In a world first, Google and Facebook could be forced to pay news organisations for their content under proposed laws
A bit of context
For three years, the Federal Government has been trying to figure out whether Google and Facebook should have to pay for the news content they host on their platforms. The Federal Government figured requiring the tech giants to cough up would help offset the revenue loss suffered by much of the media as print sales declined and more consumers accessed news for free online.
Today, the Federal Government released their plan. It has two parts.
Yes, Google and Facebook will have to pay news companies for their content
But news companies will have to pay Google and Facebook for all the readers the tech giants send their way
What Google and Facebook have to do for news companies
Facebook gets advertisement revenue from users. Users, in part, stay on Facebook because they get their news from it. Under the proposed laws, Facebook and Google will pay a chunk of money to each news outlet - it’s not yet known how much - for that content. In a win for the tech giants, YouTube and Instagram will not be included in this.
What news companies have to do for Google and Facebook
In another big win for the tech giants, the amount of money they give to news companies will be substantially diluted by a requirement that news companies pay Google and Facebook for the readers those tech platforms refer to them. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said this would only dilute the money paid by Google and Facebook - it would never get to a point where, overall, tech giants are owed money by media companies.
“As a result of their lobbying, the tech platforms have won concessions, and there should be nothing stopping them now from reaching fair commercial agreements. Ultimately, this code will benefit Australian consumers by helping sustain Australian news from Australian media companies.”
News Corp Australia executive chairman Michael Miller on Tuesday
“We’ll continue to engage through the upcoming Parliamentary process with the goal of landing on a workable framework to support Australia’s news ecosystem.”
Facebook Australia managing director Will Easton