News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller has taken aim at Meta, saying the technology company is "preparing to blackmail not just the news industry, but the government too".
In his opening remarks to today's Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society hearing, Miller said that by refusing to renew its agreement to pay for news content, Meta is daring Australia to apply the laws parliament passed three years ago.
"They don’t negotiate, they dictate," he said.
"If we want to bring the social media giants under control on an issue as big as the lives of our children, then we cannot surrender on a smaller but also incredibly important matter like the News Media Bargaining Code (NMBC).
"If we cave in on this, we’re caving in on everything."
Miller said that Meta must be designated under the NMBC, an initiative which in the last three years has delivered "material benefits" to the Australian media landscape.
"It has funded journalism jobs, the money has stayed in Australia, and for News Corp Australia we have invested in enhancing our digital and video skills, and relaunched our cadet program," he told the inquiry.
He said that the tech giant's claim that news makes up less than 3% of what people see on Facebook is "not true".
"Actually 48% of Australians get their news using a Meta platform. In America it is 31 per cent. And in Canada, before Meta blocked the news, it was 41 per cent," Miller said.
"Don’t allow the robust news reporting and commentary published by Australia’s trusted news companies to be compared to the behaviour of social media.
"News Corp journalists and commentators do get accused of misbehaviour for their reporting and, exchange of views, but they do so in a totally accountable, open environment governed by the rule of law, and I stand by them.
"This is entirely different to the world of social media where companies can prey on women with fake porn, pedal scam advertisements to rob the elderly, and push violent conspiracy theories with no respect for our laws and no accountability whatsoever."
The inquiry is expected to also investigate proposals to limit children’s access to social networks, probe social media’s effect on mental health and consider illegal content on digital platforms.
The public will hear evidence from other major publishers such as Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media.
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