News Corp Australia’s Michael Miller has backed the government’s final news media bargaining code, despite concessions to the tech giants and delays.
Details of the legislation, which will be introduced to parliament today, were revealed yesterday by treasurer Josh Frydenberg and the minister for communications and the arts Paul Fletcher.
The code, which will govern how Facebook and Google pay news companies for their content, will use final-offer arbitration as a last resort if the two parties fail to agree on a commercial deal independently.
Miller, executive chairman at News Corp Australasia, says the final code will be significant in supporting news media businesses, which have lost much of their advertising revenue base.
“This important News Media Bargaining Code legislation is a significant step forward in the decade-long campaign to achieve fairness in the relationship between Australian news media companies and the global tech giants,” Miller says.
“All we have ever sought is a fair commercial outcome and fair payment for the valuable news content our journalists create. I believe this code puts in place the framework for this to be achieved.”
Although final-offer arbitration has been adopted by the government, despite lobbying against it by Google, the tech giants did win key concessions, including the inclusion of the value they provide to news media businesses in negotiations, and more restrictions on notices they have to give to publishers around algorithm changes.
“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,” Miller says.
“Ultimately, this Code will benefit Australian consumers by helping sustain Australian news from Australian media companies.
“I understand why, in the face of the Covid crisis, the code will not be made law this year as originally planned, and I look forward to working with all participants to have the code in place in early 2021. I thank the ACCC, the federal government and other parties that have set Australia up to achieve this landmark piece of legislation.”
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