Big Tech cannot have a free lunch
Tech and social media companies have to pay for the news content they use. It’s only fair
The world over, news businesses battle a common dilemma: With revenues from traditional subscription models dwindling, more organisations want to pivot to sustenance from digital streams, given the surge in online readership and the possibility of expanding to new geographical locations and demographic groups. Yet, the digital media space is dominated by tech giants such as Google and Facebook, often piggybacking on content created by newsrooms without compensating them, and, to make things worse, functioning without any accountability or responsibility that being a media company entails. Now, an alternative may be emerging. In country after country, technology companies are striking (or being pushed to strike) multi-million dollar deals with newspapers and media companies to use their content. Significantly, several national governments have moved to reinforce such deals with legislation as a backstop, should tech firms renege on their end of the bargain. Such arrangements are already in place in Canada and Australia, and this weekend, New Zealand became the latest country to move towards this model.
The motivation behind the move, as explained by New Zealand’s minister for broadcasting Willie Jackson, was to stop news businesses from collapsing. As print and electronic revenues have dwindled, newsrooms — including those focusing on hyperlocal, civic and governance issues, or based out of smaller cities and towns — have been gutted and forced to cut key personnel and functions. As a result, communities have lost a key lever that would enforce accountability and ensure the dissemination of fact-checked, sourced and accurate information. At a time when disinformation is gnawing at the foundations of democracies — and the tech platforms have played their part in this insidious trend — the civil liberties implication of weakened newsrooms cannot be overstated.
New Zealand’s move acknowledges that verified news and information are a global good — an indispensable service, not just a commodity that can be placed on par with any content. It underlines that nations and communities have a stake in their financial sustenance and, therefore, governments should not cower in the face of aggressive tactics (like Facebook turning off its news feature in Australia last year after regulations came into effect). And it suggests that despite financial and geopolitical headlines, media businesses may have found a new way to survive and thrive. India should take note.