Indonesian authorities considering new bill that would seek fairer share from tech giants

Indonesian authorities are assessing a draft bill that could compel tech companies, such as Facebook and Google, to negotiate with media outlets for fairer revenues. According to Reuters, the aim of the bill is to ensure fairer revenues for outlets that produce core news and good journalism - under the current ecosystem, clickbait stand to earn more revenue. Indonesia’s cyber media association was involved in drafting the bill as well.

The draft, which has yet to go to parliament calls for an agency to negotiate between media firms and tech companies, and also ensuring that tech firms do more to filter content for hoaxes, Reuters reported. However, according to a quote Reuters by Ross Tapsell, a media lecturer at the Australian National University, the bill would be more advantageous to bigger industry players while smaller, independent media companies - whose mission is public interest journalism - may not benefit from the bill if it gets passed.

Algorithms run by these tech giants can have a significant impact on revenue for digital media outlets and they determine how prominently a story appears in a Google search or on a Facebook news feed. Currently, about half of Indonesia’s digital advertising revenues go to Facebook and Google, according to Wavemaker Indonesia MD's statement on Reuters.

Indonesia's considerations towards a bill for tech giants comes after the Australian government passed a new law to compel Google and Facebook to pay publishers for content used on their platforms earlier in March. The bill came after Facebook caused an uproar in Australia the month before, when it restricted publishers and Australian consumers from sharing or viewing Australian and international news content. Facebook acted in response to Australia's Media Bargaining Code which will see the company and Google being fined "hundreds of millions of dollars" should they refuse to pay for news content. Shortly after the furore it caused in Australia, Facebook said it would spend at least US$1 billion over the next three years to licence content from news publishers.

Reuters reported that Australia was the first country where a government arbitrator has the authority to decide on the price to be paid by tech giants should commercial discussions with local news publishers fall through. 

Many news publishers worldwide, including those in Malaysia, have since spoken out against tech giants benefiting from their content without paying for it. In April, the Malaysian Newspaper Publishers Association sent a letter to the Malaysia Competition Commission regarding the issue of Facebook and Google sharing their revenue with publishers in the country. Meanwhile, countries such as Canada and France are also looking to follow suit with similar laws.

Separately, Google agreed to pay Agence France-Presse for news content in a partnership forged earlier this month. According to multiple media reports including Reuters, the partnership is for five years and comes after France enacted a copyright law that creates "neighbouring rights". The law requires big tech companies to enter into discussions with publishers that want a licencing payment. Both companies said in a joint statement that the wider partnership will also encompass other projects, including a programme dedicated to fact-checking, with more details to be shared soon.

The tech giant also entered into a three-year global partnership with News Corp in February this year, to feature its publications on Google News Showcase in return for "significant payments by Google". The agreement also includes the development of a subscription platform, the sharing of ad revenue via Google’s ad technology services, the cultivation of audio journalism and meaningful investments in innovative video journalism by YouTube.

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Photo courtesy: 123RF

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