NewsMediaWorks, which represents Australia’s leading news media publishers, has responded to Google Australia’s latest misrepresentation of news content on its platform.
CEO Peter Miller said: “Google contends that news publishers have long paid newsagents – traditional retailers – to distribute newspapers, acknowledging the value of acquiring audiences. Google also contends it sends readers to newspaper sites for free. This really misses the point. While both newsagents and Google have built their businesses off the back of news, only newsagents pay for the publications and content they distribute.”
Regarding the directive from the Federal Government for the ACCC to develop a mandatory code to oversee commercial arrangements between the digital platforms and news media businesses, Miller notes: “The purpose of the code is to address the imbalance in bargaining power between digital platforms and news media businesses.
“It is clear, notwithstanding protestations of the digital platforms that they are working constructively with publishers, the Government and the ACCC were unconvinced of progress in getting to the nub of the issue – digital platforms coming to terms with their bargaining power being recalibrated so that they pay for news.”
