The Hindu Explains | Why is Google irked with the Australia’s proposed law on paying for news content?
The story so far: Australia is working on a law to create Internet platforms Google and Facebook pay news media companies to view their content as well as to link to their content. After posting its draft last year, Facebook said such a law could enforce it Block Australian news content in its feed. Last week, just over a month after Australia put the legislation in parliament, Google said it will shut down its search engine there, when the law becomes a reality, leading Prime Minister Scott Morrison to say, “We don’t respond to threats.”
What is the basis for this law?
The broad idea has been around for a number of years. In his 2019 report Request for digital platformsThe Australian Competition and Consumers Commission (ACCC), the country’s competition regulator, found that there is a fundamental imbalance in power between news media and internet platforms. The report made particular reference to Google and Facebook. These platforms would have “significant bargaining power over many news media companies.”
Also read | Google and Facebook risk heavy fines under the Australian News Act draft
Very few platforms have a user base of more than a billion or the financial power of Google or Facebook. On the other hand, there are millions of individual publishers, none of which can even come close to keeping up with the size of the top tech platforms.
It was also highlighted that media regulation barely applies to platforms, although they are increasingly playing the same role as the media. Over the past two decades, platforms have also grown tremendously, and the traditional news media that make up the context of the report have declined sharply.
The Australian government, reportedly realizing the importance of having a strong and independent media environment in a democracy, asked the ACCC to prepare a draft code, which it presented last July. After a few changes, the Amendment of treasury laws (mandatory bargaining code for news media and digital platforms) Draft law was introduced in December 2020. The biggest players in the Australian news media business, including Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Nine Network, have campaigned for such a law.
Also read | The US is calling on Australia to scrap proposed laws to make Facebook and Google pay for news
How does the draft law try to correct the imbalance?
What is being proposed is a mandatory mechanism for news media companies to negotiate with Facebook and Google over payment for their content. If the parties – digital platforms and news media – are unable to negotiate remuneration, an arbitration tribunal will choose “between two final offers from the negotiating parties”. In addition, the bill provides for a 14-day notice that platforms must provide publishers with information about changes to their algorithms. This is important because changes to platform algorithms have a significant impact on the referral traffic that publishers receive and, consequently, their business.
Also read | Australia said the Google and Facebook bills are fair and vital to the future of the media
Isn’t this a drastic departure from the way platforms work with publishers?
Yes. This is one of those rare government interventions in publisher-platform relationships. Platforms fulfill an important function in a digital world that is filled with an unimaginably large amount of content and information and into which an incessant flow of new content flows every second. They help users discover content in this huge pile of information, either through search or, for example, through a friend’s feed. This is why publishers also need platforms. For many news publications, including established ones, Google and Facebook are the source of much of their traffic.
Also read | The inventor of the World Wide Web rejects the Australian news payment plan
Often times, publications are about Google and Facebook doing well. They also worry about keeping up with algorithmic changes. However, the publisher-platform relationship was rarely about money. It was almost always about tools and strategies for publishers to do well on the platforms.
What is Google’s booth?
In addition to being against the idea of paying for the links, Google is also critical of the arbitration and algorithmic changes proposed. On his blog Google said: “Currently, no website or search engine in Australia pays to connect people with links to other websites. The Code undermines one of the key principles of the open internet that people use every day.” Furthermore, it disagrees with claims that it is responsible for the decline in newspaper revenue.
Also read | According to Google, the Australian law on payment for messages is not enforceable
Shutting down the search engine in Australia is a real option as Google has taken such a step in the past. In 2014, Google has closed its intelligence service in Spainwhen the government introduced a law to pay a license fee for the use of news content. Google has shut down its Chinese search engine In France it was legally compelled to do business with publishers. The EU copyright law enforced by France “allows publishers to charge a fee from online platforms that contain extracts of their news,” a Reuters report said. It is not clear on what basis the remuneration was calculated.
Google suggested another solution. It goes under the name Google News Showcase, a licensing agreement with publishers around the world that is expected to spend $ 1 billion worldwide over the next three years.
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