Pay Out or Get Out: Australia’s New Legislation and What It Means for Producers, Distributors and Consumers of News in a Digital Age
Last week, the Australian government implemented the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code. In short, this bill forces internet sources that distribute news and information to consumers, such as Google and Facebook, to pay news publishers for their content through amicable agreements, otherwise the government is able to step in. The Australian government has argued this move is necessary, as ‘financial support is needed for Australia’s embattled news industry because a strong media is vital to democracy’ (BBC News, 2021). But how will corporations that aid the distribution of news publishing react to this new law?
While Google quickly announced a deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corps (BBC News, 2021), Facebook seemed far less willing to comply with new legislation. In a Newsroom update William Easton, the managing director of Facebook Australia expressed dissatisfaction with the new bill. Facebook has stated they should not be included under the new law as, while Google searches are ‘inexplicably intertwined with news and publishers do not voluntarily provide their content […] publishers willingly choose to post news on Facebook, as it allows them to sell more subscriptions, grow their audiences and increase advertising revenue’ (Facebook, 2021). Australia’s competition watchdog has argued however, that contrary to the arguments made by Facebook, ‘for every $100 spent on online advertising, Google captures $53 [and] Facebook takes $28’ (BBC News, 2021) and as such, these distributors should pay news publishers for the work they distribute. As a result, Australian Facebook accounts have been restricted from ‘posting news links and sharing or viewing Australian and international news content on Facebook’ (Facebook, 2021). But what does this all mean for the publisher and the consumer?
Although the act has been implemented to improve the situation for news publishers, some fear this move from the Australian government could work against them. There is the fear that powerful corporations such as Google and Facebook will still hold the power over smaller news publishers as these companies would still be able to ‘suppress their publication’s search rankings or withhold ad deals’ in retaliation (Digiday, 2021).
Whilst the deal between News Corp and Google follows the new legislation, the deal could potentially harm the smaller news publishers the act was designed to protect. Rather than showing (and compensating) smaller news publishers, Google’s platform News Showcase is now only obliged to show the news broadcasts of a single and incredibly wealthy source. This in turn has the potential to affect the consumer as research has shown that when looking for news articles, people will choose ‘the path of least resistance’ (WNIP, 2021) and so may receive news with a biased perspective on events, with little presenting differing views. Through this, there is also the potential that users may ignore publications from the news sources that need the online traffic the most.
Similarly, Facebook’s decision to block all news sources could deprive users from accessing up-to-date, reliable information. Research from the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020 suggests that 52% of Australians utilise social media as a source of news (Reuters, 2020). Their decision could deprive users of legitimate news sources, while allowing others who wish to spread false information to do so relatively unimpeded.
While Australia is clearly attempting to take steps in the right direction to ensure news publishers are sufficiently compensated for their work, without the full cooperation of the large tech companies, further steps need to be taken to ensure smaller publications are able to receive the money and viewer interactions they so desperately need.
BBC News (2021) ‘Australia news code: What’s this row with Facebook and Google all about?’ BBC News Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-56107028 [Accessed: 21/02/21]
BBC News (2021) ‘Australia unveils plan to force Google and Facebook to pay for news’ BBC News Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-53604477 [Accessed: 21/02/21]
BBC News (2021) ‘Google to pay Murdoch’s News Corporation for stories’ BBC News Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56101859 [Accessed: 21/02/21]
Easton, W. ‘Changes to Sharing and Viewing News on Facebook in Australia’ Facebook Australia & New Zealand Available at: https://about.fb.com/news/2021/02/changes-to-sharing-and-viewing-news-on-facebook-in-australia/ [Accessed: 21/02/21]
InPublishing (2021) ‘Facebook blocks Australian news site sharing’ InPublishing Available at: https://www.inpublishing.co.uk/articles/facebook-blocks-australian-news-site-sharing-17275 [Accessed: 21/02/21]
Kaye, K., (2021) ‘‘I’m afraid of repercussions’: Publishing industry members question Google’s motives in paying off News Corp’ Digiday Available at: https://digiday.com/media/googles-motives-in-paying-off-news-corp/ [Accessed: 21/02/21]
Newman, N., Fletcher, R., Schulz, A., Andi, S. and Nielsen, R., K., (2020) Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020 [online] Available at: https://www.digitalnewsreport.org/ [Accessed: 21/02/21]
Parliament of Australia (2021) ‘Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code) Bill 2021’ Available at: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r6652 [Accessed: 21/02/2021]
The Conversation (2021) ‘Facebook’s news is gone. Here’s where to turn for trusted information’ What’s New in Publishing Available at: https://whatsnewinpublishing.com/facebooks-news-is-gone-heres-where-to-turn-for-trusted-information/ [Accessed: 21/02/21]
WNIP (2021) ‘Facebook’s news blockade in Australia: A ban with global implications’ What’s New in Publishing — Available at: https://whatsnewinpublishing.com/facebooks-news-blockade-in-australia-a-ban-with-global-implications/ [Accessed: 21/02/21]
