Introduction
Digital platforms that publish information from the media are significantly leading to the decline of the country’s journalism and economy. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop codes to regulate cooperation between digital platforms and news media. The Code’s main provision implies financial compensation for the published news context and a fairer representation of news publications in the media space. These codes have major implications for journalism, media ownership, and the sustainability of the news industry, and their adoption has sparked discussion and debate worldwide.
Australia was the first to adopt the Treasury Laws Amendment (News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code) Act 2021. This regulation was created to promote mutually beneficial cooperation between digital platforms and news resources. The example of Australia has become very demonstrative, and more countries, including the UK, Canada, and New Zealand, are considering adopting similar codes. Hence, the Code was essential legislation that allows you to regulate the relationship between digital platforms and the media, contributed to the maintenance of independent journalism in Australia, and positively impacted other countries’ legislation.
News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code
The News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code, adopted in 2021, aimed to regulate the interaction between digital platforms like Google and Meta and online news publishers. The main objective of the legislation was to “support the sustainability of public interest journalism in Australia” (News Media Bargaining Code, 2022, para. 1). Previously, digital platforms could freely post media texts on their resources. It led to a decrease in the profitability of media organizations and a need for more pluralism in the media space. Moreover, larger news publishers could pay for their texts to be published on Google or Meta (Bossio et al., 2022). As a result, smaller media companies could not reach a wide audience and lost money, which led to injustice in the field of free journalism.
The Code set the rules for creating new businesses in the news industry, including defining the content that the media can publish. Under the law, the media can publish “content that reports, investigates or explains” events and news relevant to Australia, engaging the public in democratic discussion (Lee & Molitorisz, 2021, p. 40). In addition, the Code has established a list of responsibilities for digital platforms that publish news content.
According to the regulation, online platforms are required to “share data; give advance notice of algorithmic changes; facilitate open communication; and recognize original news content” (Lee & Molitorisz, 2021, p. 40). Moreover, the Code has made it mandatory to have compensation for published content and established the Bargaining Rules, Compulsory Mediation, and ‘Final Offer Arbitration.’ This approach has a positive impact on the development of journalism in Australia and helps support the country’s economy through new sources of replenishment of the state budget.
Fair compensation for the media for their work is one of the most positive impacts of the Code. Before the ruling, journalism in Australia was experiencing significant financial hardship as digital platforms published and benefited from news content from other sources (Bossio et al., 2022). As a result, the audience of the online periodical was significantly reduced since users could obtain information from other sources. The decrease in the audience of news organizations led to a reduction in their income, the main sources of which were advertising on the site and subscriptions to premium content. However, the Code helped to stabilize journalism funding by providing a new source of income for publishing houses and facilitating their development.
Moreover, the Code has improved the possibilities of forming public opinion through the media. Texts promoted by digital platforms in the past could be rather one-sided in their statements and assertions. The impossibility of public access to sources of information offering different points of view has led to the weakening of democracy in the country. However, adopting the Code has helped ensure that a wide range of media outlets can reach a wide audience regardless of their views or owners (Bossio et al., 2022). Promoting pluralism and facilitating the formation of one’s views and opinions among citizens is one of the key principles of democracy.
Moreover, since adopting the Code, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has been developing new amendments to make the partnership of media and digital platforms more effective. It applies to increasing Australian journalism’s sustainability and publishing information’s impact on the public. In particular, in January 2023, an innovation to the Code was proposed, according to which ACMA representatives will take the necessary measures to counter disinformation in the media space (Karp, 2023). It means that in addition to monitoring media compensation from digital companies, the Australian government will be able to monitor the quality of news published and the amount of disinformation.
In addition, ACMA will be able to “monitor efforts and compel digital platforms to do more, placing Australia at the forefront in tackling harmful online misinformation and disinformation” (Karp, 2023, para. 9). This innovation will contribute to the quality of publications for the society and will help to avoid social misconceptions and misconceptions.
In this way, adopting the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code has fostered partnerships between digital platforms and news organizations. Earlier, Google and Meta were the main ones in these relations and determined the media’s income. Today, the Australian government has managed to equalize the parties and provide equal opportunities for development and earnings for news companies. As a result, Australia became the first country to enact a media regulation that promotes journalism and reduces misinformation (Lee & Molitorisz, 2021). Moreover, Australian public policy has significantly impacted other countries, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada.
Influence on Other Countries
The United Kingdom
Following Australia’s example, the UK plans to implement a similar bill to regulate the relationship between digital markets and companies. The Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumer Bill is a large-scale document that, among other things, aims to establish fair compensation for companies for their activities presented on digital platforms. These sites include social networks like Meta (Facebook) and Twitter and search engines like Google. In this way, the British government is trying to support the state’s economy since this area provides many jobs. Furthermore, in 2019, it brought more than £ 150 billion to the UK economy (Shalchi & Mirza-Davies, 2023). Therefore, adopting this bill can potentially positively impact the development of business and, in particular, journalism.
The bill’s adoption implies the organization of a pro-competition regime for digital markets. According to the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (2023), “the measures in the regime will be targeted at a small number of firms which exert significant control over digital markets” (p. 4). It applies to the media, which distributes information from Google and Meta. However, the bill proposed by the UK government has certain challenges for its implementation.
The main issue of this bill is its scale since it covers several significant areas at once, which is why some things could be improved in the text of the law. Moreover, the provisions regarding online media and mass media are not specified and are considered in the general context of companies operating in the digital market (Shalchi & Mirza-Davies, 2023). Therefore, its benefits for the development of journalism in the UK, as it has become in Australia, may be in doubt. Moreover, the effective implementation of the bill to create sustainable journalism requires improved regulation within the industry, which will allow small news companies to be effectively marketed alongside big competitors.
The Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumer Bill has passed two readings in the House of Commons and is on the Committee stage. The bill’s text is presented in fragments in the form of briefings. It makes it much more difficult to understand the potential benefit of the ruling. Moreover, many points of the law being developed, including regulating relations between digital platforms and the media, require clarification to be effectively used in practice. However, the UK government is aware of the need to control the digital market, which creates great potential for the future development of the direction.
New Zealand
New Zealand plans to implement a Code similar to the Australian one to provide the necessary funding for media development. New Zealand’s Minister for Broadcasting and Media, Hon. Willie Jackson (2022b), talks about the need to develop “legislation to support news media organizations to maximize the benefits they receive from the content they create” (p. 2). The planned bill has the same goals as the Australian Code, which is to regulate the process of negotiations between digital platforms like Google and Meta and news companies regarding the determination of compensation for the publication of materials.
Moreover, the Ministry for Broadcasting and Media of New Zealand primarily aims to help small regional media. The reduction in funding for journalism, which led to the publication of materials on third-party sites, led to a reduction in the number of journalists, a decrease in interest in this profession, and the decline of journalism in the country. According to Jackson (2022a), the country’s government seeks to create a level playing field for developing journalism and creating new companies in this field, regardless of the business size.
The regulation will encourage digital companies to voluntarily negotiate with online publishers about the compensation they want for published content. However, “if an agreement between New Zealand news media and global digital platforms cannot be reached, the legislation sets out processes for negotiations and mandatory bargaining” (Jackson, 2022a, para. 9). While the bill has the potential to have a positive impact on journalism in New Zealand, it is still in the planning stages and has not been formally introduced. Therefore, the timing of its adoption and implementation today is difficult to establish.
Canada
Unlike the UK and New Zealand, the Canadian government has been more forceful in regulating the relationship between digital platforms and the media. The drafted Online News Act has already passed “through the House of Commons and is now making its way through the Senate” (Ingram, 2023, para. 2). Similar to the Australian Code, this law aims to facilitate negotiations between digital platforms and news companies for a fair distribution of income. The Act encourages companies to voluntarily negotiate to discuss publishing compensation (The Online News Act, 2022). In this way, the government plans to create a sustainable journalism system in Canada and promote the development of this field in the digital space.
However, the law ran into opposition from stakeholders and the public. Google representatives said that the law is not aimed at promoting journalism but at promoting large publishers in the market (Ingram, 2023). To demonstrate the potential harm of the law. Google removed news from search results, which caused significant criticism and demonstrated the need to regulate this area and limit the powers of digital platforms.
Moreover, some journalists have stated that the Online News Act means “creating an even greater economic dependence and giving Google and Facebook even more power than they already have over what we read and what we see” (Ingram, 2023, para. 9). The passage of the law will make publishing compensation a major source of income for news companies, which could negatively affect the quality of stories. The bill needs to be improved, but in the long run, it can positively impact the development of journalism in Canada.
Conclusion
In conclusion, regulating the relationship between digital platforms and news agencies is essential today. Publishing news on Facebook and Google without adequate compensation to publishers will lead to the decline of journalism and can cause significant economic losses for countries. To avoid this, national governments are developing laws and codes to promote partnerships between digital companies and the media.
These legislations contribute to creating sustainable journalism and the emergence of new news stories and investigative journalism. Moreover, they allow citizens to receive information from different sources, promoting pluralism, an important part of a democratic society. Australia’s news media bargaining code is a prime example of how government intervention can positively impact a country’s journalism.
References
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Department for Business and Trade, & Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. (2023). A new pro-competition regime for digital markets: Policy summary briefing. Web.
Ingram, M. (2023). Canada imitates Australia’s news-bargaining law, but to what end? Columbia Journalism Review. Web.
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Jackson, H. W. (2022b). Proactive release of Cabinet Material: Supporting commercial bargaining for online news [PDF document]. Ministry for Culture & Heritage. Web.
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Shalchi, A., & Mirza-Davies, J. (2023). Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill 2022-23: Digital markets and competition provisions. House of Commons Library. Web.
News media bargaining code. (2022). Australian Communications and Media Authority. Web.
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