New public consultation in Australia discusses payment by Google and Facebook for content displayed on their platforms.
Following the movement initiated by the copyright directive approved in the European Union in 2019, the Australian government initiated a public consultation on a new code of conduct, which includes the possibility of establishing an obligation for Google and Facebook to pay certain amounts to communication vehicles for the exhibition of media content on their platforms.
Such a provision would require digital companies to negotiate with media companies the compensation appl icable to each case, and share information on the revenue earned from “making news available” in their platforms.
According to the Australian Finance Minister Josh Frydenberg, the new code of conduct would be positive, as it would increase “competition, consumer protection and a sustainable media landscape”, in addition to possibility of being applicable to other digital companies at a later time. In case of breach of the imposed obligation, Google and Facebook may face sanctions of up to $ 7 million or 10% of local revenue.
In a statement about the new code of conduct, Google said it understood that the measure would imply strong intervention by the Australian government, while Facebook claimed that it would seek to assess its impact on the “industry, services and investments of the company in the media ecosystem in Australia“. The public consultation will end on August 28, 2020.
More information is available, in Portuguese, in https://oglobo.globo.com/economia/google-facebook-terao-de-pagar-pela-exibicao-de-conteudo-de-midia-na-australia-24560578