Australia orders the creation of a mandatory code of conduct requiring platforms like Google and Facebook to pay media businesses for news content

The Federal Government has ordered the competition watchdog to develop a mandatory code of conduct to govern commercial dealings between tech giants and news media companies.

ABC 2020-04-20 Nour Haydar

Context & Ripple Effects

This order is the pivot point of a three-year arc: Australia's competition regulator flagged the platform-news imbalance as far back as its 2017 inquiry into whether Facebook and Google disrupted news media, and by April 2020 the government moved from studying the problem to mandating a fix, tasking the watchdog with drafting binding rules for commercial dealings between platforms and publishers.

The drafters then iterated under pressure — a December revised bill began recognizing the monetary value of referral traffic platforms send publishers — before the code passed in February 2021. What started as this order ended up reshaping publisher economics well beyond it, with the former commission chair later reporting AU$200M+ a year flowing from Google and Meta into Australian journalism.

First-order effects

Google and Facebook shift from voluntary licensing talks to legally backed negotiations with Australian news businesses, with the competition watchdog empowered to set arbitration terms if deals stall.
Australian publishers gain collective leverage they lacked individually, since the code covers the platforms' dealings across the whole media sector rather than one outlet at a time.

Second-order effects

Rather than litigate or exit, both platforms struck content deals at scale — the mechanism later credited with injecting AU$200M+ annually into Australian newsrooms.
The design kept evolving after passage: where voluntary deals lapsed, Australia escalated to the [[a:1175336|News Bargaining Incentive, taxing tech giants 2.5% on Australian ad revenue unless they negotiate]], turning the code into a revenue-backed backstop.

Third-order effects

If the pattern holds, platform-publisher payment obligations become a standard regulatory export — other jurisdictions copying the bargain-or-be-taxed structure rather than waiting for voluntary agreements.
The deeper structural shift is that governments now treat news content as an asset with a price the state is willing to enforce, ending two decades in which aggregation was priced at zero by default.

The trend: Governments are converting platform-publisher bargaining from voluntary goodwill into enforceable codes, with tax backstops as the enforcement floor.

Discussion

@miriyananz Miriyana Alexander on x
Superb from the Aussies - something surely at the top of Minister Faafoi's media to do list. Australia to force technology giants Facebook and Google to pay for news content https://nzherald.co.nz/...
@jeffjarvis Jeff Jarvis on x
Why not make them share with every industry that's hurting? The illogic of this.... Facebook and Google to be forced to share advertising revenue with Australian media companies https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@jimwaterson Jim Waterson on x
I don't really get how you decide which outlets get paid and the detail seems a bit fuzzy but Australia is trying to force Facebook and Google to hand over cash to news outlets. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@benyt Ben Smith on x
This could be a huge deal if imitated globally, and may be one reason Facebook and Google are being so generous to news outlets right now https://twitter.com/...
@adambandt Adam Bandt on x
If the government can force Google to pay Rupert Murdoch, they can make tech giants pay our authors and artists as well. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@chrisberg Chris Berg on x
govt using accc to impose new tax while parliament is away https://www.theaustralian.com.au/ ...
@vivifriedgut @vivifriedgut on x
@PickardJE @adamboultonSKY Suspect a number of policies that would have been unthinkable pre-corona will be implemented while the public mood is as it currently is - Australia just made this unprecedented move; https://www.google.co.uk/...
@joshfrydenberg Josh Frydenberg on x
The Morrison Government is working with the ACCC to develop a mandatory code of conduct to ensure digital platforms pay for original news content. This will help create a level playing field & a fairer go for all. My OpEd in @australian👇https:// joshfrydenberg.com.au/...
@pickardje Jim Pickard on x
that is quite the precedent https://twitter.com/...
@chriskeall Chris Keall on x
Once again - as with hate content, profit-shifting, privacy and invasive ad tracking - Aussie govt is far more front-foot with big tech. And Facebook and Google are not fleeing its shores https://www.nzherald.co.nz/...
@nzherald @nzherald on x
The social media giants will be forced to pay Australian media companies for sharing their content — or face sanctions, under a landmark decision made by Scott Morrison's Government. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/...
@kirstinestewart Kirstine Stewart on x
Facebook, Google to Be Forced to Pay for News in Australia “negotiations between the tech giants and traditional media platforms had failed to result in a voluntary arrangement and the competition watchdog would unveil a draft code by the end of July.” https://www.bloomberg.com/.…
@business @business on x
Google and Facebook will be forced to pay media companies in Australia for publishing their news under what the government says is a world-first mandatory code of conduct https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@mollyfud Phillip Molly Malone on x
@JoshFrydenberg @australian Hope you have done your research and that research should start with looking at the case study that is Spain. Spain did this and it hurt the industry as a whole and was horrible for those that consume news. (https://www.niemanlab.org/...)
@joshgans Joshua Gans on x
Urgh. This sounds like a mess. Especially with so many other better options available. https://www.theverge.com/...
@darrinlim Darrin Lim on x
Really hope this works, but am skeptical. Spain tried this a few years ago and it back-fired. Google just stopped linking to their publishers and traffic tanked. Spain ended up back-tracking. https://twitter.com/...
@lukebuckmaster Luke Buckmaster on x
With the govt getting Google & Facebook to pony up $$$ for Oz content providers, how about introducing content quotas for Netflix? Less than 2% of content on Netflix Australia is locally produced. A one-way relationship, despite Australia having more than 11 million subscribers
@hardiegrant Hardie Grant on x
Morrison's team picks and chooses when it thinks content should be paid for - apparently not important for authors and book publishers but they will defend the rights of the newspapers to gain a commercial benefit for their content #auspol #ABiggerPicture https://mobile.abc.net.a…
@theage @theage on x
Global giants such as Google and Facebook will be forced to pay for content in a radical overhaul of Australia's $10 billion internet advertising business, in a bid to shield local publishers from the economic wreckage of the coronavirus crisis. https://www.theage.com.au/...
@manjusrii Belinda Barnet on x
“The code will require the companies to...pay news media for use of their content, advise news media of algorithm changes that would affect content rankings, favour original source news content in search results, and share data with media companies. https://www.theguardian.com/ .…
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
if you want to force company X & Y to support company a & b, you should be honest and call it a tax, not a ‘code of conduct’ or a ‘good-faith negotiation’ https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@corinne_podger @corinne_podger on x
This ruling will also require the platforms to advise news outlets on algorithm changes that will change content rankings. That is revolutionary. cc @MattNavarra @rasmus_kleis @MediaGFMD https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@markscott82 Mark Scott on x
I'm all about media outlets being properly paid when people use their content. But I'm not sure I buy the link between declining ad revenues and social media giants “stealing content” from publishers https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@jmatthiasford Matt Ford on x
We need this in the states immediately. https://twitter.com/...
@dcbigjohn John R Stanton on x
This is huge, huge news. Facebook and Google to be forced to share advertising revenue with Australian media companies https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@rasmus_kleis Rasmus Kleis Nielsen on x
“Facebook and Google will be forced to share advertising revenue with Australian media companies after the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, instructed the competition watchdog to develop a mandatory code of conduct for the digital giants amid a steep decline” https://www.theguardian.c…
@jason_kint @jason_kint on x
Monster news out of Australia. Govt to accelerate Facebook and Google into a mandatory code of conduct rather than voluntary. This on the heels of French competition authority last week forcing Google to come to a deal to properly pay for news content under EU copyright rules. ht…
@arekfurt Brian on x
Of course, more typically sites pay drivers of traffic like Google and Facebook to help send users to them because those visits themselves lead to revenue. But I guess these moves fall under the “These U.S. tech companies have lots of money. Let's get us some of it.” exception. h…
@sineadboucher Sinead Boucher on x
A similar model in NZ would be a game changer for local media. Facebook and Google to be forced to share advertising revenue with Australian media companies https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@rabble @rabble on x
This is dumb. Requiring search engines and social media to pay media businesses will just result in those companies dropping traffic to those sites. Eventually even black listing all links to sites that demand payment. https://twitter.com/...
@jeremyreesnz @jeremyreesnz on x
Australia has ordered its competition watchdog to develop a mandatory code of conduct between tech giants and news media companies. It could require digital platforms such as Google and Facebook to pay news media for the content they produce. https://www.abc.net.au/...
@pippac1 @pippac1 on x
Coronavirus crisis prompts government to direct the ACCC to cease initial voluntary code plan for digital giants and begin work on a new mandatory code. http://www.abc.net.au/...

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