The company threatens to stop Australian users from sharing news, should the News Media Bargaining Code come into force later this year.
A code to strengthen news publishers’ position: During 2019, the Australian Competition Authority carried out an extensive inquiry into digital platforms, which highlighted the need to address the market power of big tech companies. In April 2020, the Australian Government directed the ACCC to draft a mandatory code of conduct to govern the arrangements between digital platforms and news publishers. The ACCC issued a first draft of the code on 31 July 2020. The rules would enable news publishers to negotiate a payment with digital platforms, and access an arbitration mechanism that would conclude within 45 working days. News organisations could also bargain collectively with the platforms.
No more news sharing on Facebook? On 31 August 2020, Facebook announced it will stop users in Australia from sharing news on its platforms, should the code come into force. The company warns that the rules would be counterproductive to the goal of supporting struggling news organisations. The ACCC responded with a statement in which it labelled Facebook’s threat as ‘ill-timed and misconceived’.
Google has also been vocal against the regulation: In August 2020, Google published a blog post and a letter to Australians, saying that the rules would put search at risk and give an unfair advantage to news media compared to any other website or small business. Google also warned that users’ search data may be at risk. Strikingly, Google suggests it will not shut down Google News in the country, because the way in which the code is written would require Google to undertake a mass cull of content globally to stop making it visible in Australia. The ACCC will finalise the code by the end of 2020, taking into account the responses to the consultation that closed on 28 August 2020.
