Microsoft partners with EU publishing lobbyists to push for payment for news content amid Australia's effort to force Facebook and Google to share their revenue

Seattle-based company aligns with press industry and exploits rivals' difficulties — Microsoft has joined forces …

Financial Times 2021-02-23 Alex Barker

Context & Ripple Effects

Microsoft’s alliance with Europe’s largest publishing lobby groups extends its earlier support for Australia’s proposed news-payment rules and follows a longer record of backing groups seeking regulatory action against Google. The move aligns Microsoft with publishers as Australia presses Facebook and Google to share revenue from news.

The immediate significance is political: Microsoft is helping turn a country-level fight over platform payments into a coordinated European publishing agenda aimed at “gatekeepers.”

First-order effects

European publishing lobby groups gain Microsoft as a corporate ally in their push to mandate payments for news content used by gatekeepers.
Google and Facebook face a more organized campaign for payment rules across both the Australian debate and European publisher advocacy.

Second-order effects

Microsoft’s willingness to accept Australia-style rules differentiates it from Google and Facebook while giving publishers a major technology-company supporter in regulatory negotiations.
Australian proposals become a reference point for European lobbyists, increasing pressure for policy responses that treat news distribution as a compensable platform activity.

Third-order effects

If payment mandates spread, the relationship between news publishers and large online gatekeepers shifts from voluntary traffic-and-licensing arrangements toward regulated compensation frameworks.
Microsoft’s alignment with publishers signals that platform regulation can also become a competitive instrument, with technology companies supporting rules that chiefly constrain rivals.

The trend: News publishers are seeking to convert bargaining power over platform distribution into statutory payment obligations, while rival technology firms increasingly take sides in those policy fights.

Discussion

@gaberivera Gabe Rivera on x
Microsoft to plot with European lobbyists to destroy the basic internet freedom to link, further tilt the playing field against smaller publishers, smother future startup business models in the crib, and make Rupert Murdoch more powerful, all to inconvenience Google a bit. https:…
@zsk Zoe Kleinman on x
I have a feeling this is not the end of this particular drama. https://www.bbc.co.uk/...
@amnestytech @amnestytech on x
Amnesty welcomes the news that access to critical information will be restored in Australia - but the actions are still a shocking demonstration of Facebook's power to control what information people see online. https://www.bbc.co.uk/...
@marvelle Marshall Maher on x
This is exactly why FB going nuclear in Australia was so stupid. Are they going to ban news from all of Europe too? US tech journalists probably think FB should do it. https://twitter.com/...
@meadea Amanda Meade on x
Updated: If the government were to later decide to apply the code to Facebook, the company could pull news from Australia again. Facebook reverses Australia news ban after government makes media code amendments https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@steve_fi Steve Williams on x
We really need to find better funding mechanisms for supporting independent journalism. We shouldn't be letting tech companies wage war with one another which will only lead to consolidation of the biggest players. https://twitter.com/...
@johnbattelle John Battelle on x
Facebook reaches deal with Australia over news. So much wrong about that headline it makes my head hurt. https://www.wsj.com/...
@benthompson Ben Thompson on x
Years of rebuilding their reputation only to set it aflame for...Bing? https://twitter.com/...
@stevesi Steven Sinofsky on x
Microsoft joins forces with European news publishers https://www.ft.com/... // it isn't about aligning w/publishers which is fine, but about the false arguments being put forth that this aligns Microsoft with. 💔 enemy of my enemy is not a strategy when built on incorrect facts.
@mattyglesias Matthew Yglesias on x
Okay I thought this was funny when it was just happening in Australia but now I'm mad. https://www.ft.com/...
@robpegoraro Rob Pegoraro on x
Lots to parse in this statement from Facebook about news in Australia, but focus on “allow us to support the publishers we choose to” and “we will retain the ability to decide if news appears on Facebook so that we won't automatically be subject to a forced negotiation.” https://…
@marcelweiss Marcel Wei&szlig on x
@benedictevans @oliver_wright It's almost like the Times is belonging to the same corporation that is pushing this nonsense in Australia.
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
(I wonder if Facebook will start promoting a law that says smartphone companies aren't allowed to make user data available to the Chinese government, just to try to cause trouble for Apple.)
@jbenton Joshua Benton on x
Microsoft's role here is more than a little sleazy, imo https://twitter.com/...
@newsceo David Chavern on x
This is a tremendous announcement - and shows the worldwide movement toward a true and fair value exchange for online news https://twitter.com/...
@klyngec Casper Klynge on x
This is an important step for us. Happy to team up w/ @ENPABrussels @newsmediaEU @MagazineMedia @EPC_Press to advocate that EU law mandate payments for use of press content. Access to quality news is critical to the success of our democracies. Statement: https://blogs.microsoft.c…
@alex @alex on x
my read here is that Bing is a little profitable and MSFT is willing to plow all that $ into content as a way to undercut Google? https://twitter.com/...
@benedictevans Benedict Evans on x
Old: “Everyone in tech gives their competitor's core business away for free” New: “Everyone in tech tries to get their competitor's core business regulated”

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