The explosive growth of platforms like Google, Facebook and Microsoft has created an uneven playing field as they rely on content created by newsrooms.
Post Date – 12:23 AM, Mon – 12 December 22
The explosive growth of platforms like Google, Facebook and Microsoft has created an uneven playing field as they rely on content created by newsrooms.
Hyderabad: At a time when revenues for media organizations, both print and digital, are rapidly dwindling, a compelling moral argument is catching on around the world that tech giants must be made to pay for news content on their platforms and share it with local publications. commercial advertising revenue. The explosion of global digital platforms such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft, with their pervasive impact on our lives, has created an uneven playing field as they rely on content originally created by newsrooms without compensation . And, more importantly, unlike media companies, tech giants are not subject to any accountability or responsibility.
New Zealand is the latest to introduce a law forcing tech companies to sign agreements with newspapers and media organizations to use their content, following Australia and Canada. India should also take a similar approach to level the playing field. The enormous market power that big tech companies now wield in digital advertising puts Indian media companies at a severe disadvantage. This needs to be rectified through appropriate amendments to the Information Technology Act. It’s not fair that big digital platforms like Google and Meta host and share local news for free. Making news has a cost, and it’s only fair that they pay. The rise of digital advertising has spawned a new ecosystem that redistributes ad dollars to tech companies.
Copying the model of Australia and Canada, New Zealand is poised to introduce a law that would require tech giants to pay the country’s media companies for local news content. Australia is the first country to make it mandatory for tech companies to pay for original news content. News publishers around the world believe that Facebook and Google will benefit from news appearing on their feeds because it draws a large number of users to the platforms. While social media platforms generate clicks, engagement and even revenue from content published by media organizations, news organizations, especially small and medium-sized ones, suffer as more ads come online. Many news outlets are finding it difficult to negotiate business deals with tech companies.
Digital taxation, competition policy and reforming intellectual property laws are some of the options that could help rebalance the relationship between news producers and tech giants. Having a mandatory code for revenue sharing ensures a level playing field. It all depends on the relative market power of news companies and tech giants. With 282 million unique visitors, India is the second largest consumer of online news after China. For its part, India must include in its proposed data protection bill proper guidelines on the responsibilities of digital service providers for news publications.
