Australia unveiled its bill Friday to force Google and Facebook to pay media for their content at the risk of having to pay heavy fines, one of the most aggressive initiatives against the two tech giants, which fight it. This "binding code of conduct" supposed to govern relations between media in great financial difficulty and the giants that dominate the Internet comes after 18 months of negotiations which have failed to bring the two camps together.
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In addition to the obligation to pay in exchange for content, the code deals with issues such as access to user data, the transparency of algorithms and the order in which content appears in the information flows of platforms and the results of research. " It is nothing less than the future of the Australian media landscape that is at stake with these changes, " Australian Finance Minister Josh Frydenberg told reporters, adding that the bill would be presented to parliament in the future. next weeks.
The code will eventually apply to any digital platform using content from Australian media, but it will initially focus on Facebook and Google, two of the richest and most powerful companies in the world.
Google is "deeply disappointed"
Google said it was " deeply disappointed " by the project. “ The government's tough intervention threatens to hamper Australia's digital economy and impact the services we provide to Australians, ” threatened Google Australia and New Zealand CEO Mel Silva. Facebook's reaction has been more laconic. " We are studying the government's proposal to understand the impact it will have on our business, services and investments in the Australian media ecosystem ," said Will Easton, chief executive of Facebook in the region.
The Australian initiative is being followed closely around the world at a time when the media is suffering in a digital economy where advertising revenue is increasingly captured by Facebook, Google and other big tech firms. The media crisis has been compounded by the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus. In Australia dozens of newspapers have been closed and hundreds of journalists sacked in recent months.
Facebook and Google are strongly opposed to any measure that would force them to share advertising revenue. They hinted that if mandatory payments were introduced they could simply boycott the Australian media. But Josh Frydenberg warned that the future code would prohibit any "discrimination" against the Australian media by these companies. " The bill presented today will attract the attention of many regulatory agencies and governments around the world, " predicted the Australian minister, affirming that the Australian device would be a " world benchmark ".
Penalties at stake
Google announced last month that it would pay several media in Germany, Brazil but also in Australia, to feed a new information platform. But many saw it as a way for the group to dictate terms. The code, developed by the Australian Competition Constable (ACCC), provides that Internet giants negotiate "in good faith" with the media to agree on remuneration. If there is no agreement within three months, the case would be referred to an arbitration which would fix the level of these payments in a binding way.
The code provides for penalties of 10 million Australian dollars (6 million euros) or 10% of the local turnover of the group, which the ACCC has estimated at four billion AUD per year. The two groups had rejected drafts of the mandatory media payments proposal, while saying they would participate in a collaborative project to investigate media complaints. They argue that advertising revenues backed by news content represented a tiny fraction of their revenues. On the contrary, they claim that they help to promote Australian news sites by directing Internet users to them.
