Platforms Paying for News: Journalism's Lifeline?
Tech giants like Google and Meta face laws forcing them to pay news creators. This changes how journalism stays afloat.
Topics: media, technology, politics
Example
After Australia's News Media Bargaining Code (2021) led Google and Meta to sign deals estimated at over A$200 million a year, Canada passed a similar Online News Act in June 2023. The platforms responded differently. Meta blocked news on Facebook and Instagram for Canadian users from August 2023 rather than pay. Google reached an agreement with the government in November 2023 to pay about C$100 million a year into a fund for Canadian news outlets.
Key facts
- Australia's code led to deals worth an estimated more than A$200 million a year, according to a 2022 government review.
- In November 2023 Google agreed to pay about C$100 million a year to Canadian news businesses under the Online News Act.
Limitations
- Payments are small next to the advertising revenue newspapers lost to platforms, and Meta's news block in Canada cut traffic to some outlets, so the policy has costs as well as gains.
Evaluations
media evaluation
Support
Google's payments give Canadian newsrooms, including small and Indigenous outlets, a new source of funding for journalism.
Counterargument
Meta's news block removed a major route by which Canadians found news, and studies reported falls in engagement with local outlets.
Rebuttal
The block shows the risk of relying on platforms for distribution; the long-term answer may be outlets building direct relationships with readers.
Additional support
During 2023 wildfires, Canadian officials criticised the block for limiting access to news in an emergency.
technology evaluation
Support
The cases show that platforms that profit from attention can be made to share revenue with those who produce news.
Counterargument
Platforms argue that they send outlets free traffic and that paying for links breaks how the open web works.
Rebuttal
The fact that Google chose to pay rather than leave suggests news is valuable to its search product.
Additional support
Generative AI search tools that summarise news without sending readers to the source raise the same question in a new form.
politics evaluation
Support
Canada copying Australia shows how a policy can spread between democracies, adapted to local conditions.
Counterargument
Meta's refusal shows the limits of national laws when a global firm is willing to withdraw a service.
Rebuttal
Different platform responses show that outcomes depend on how much each company needs a market, which governments can use in negotiation.
Additional support
Australia responded to Meta's later refusal with a proposed charge on platforms that do not make deals, showing governments adjusting their tools.
Sources
- Australian Treasury ministers (2022-12-02): Release of News Media Bargaining Code Review
- JURIST (2023-12-01): Canada and Google strike deal to compensate news publishers under Online News Act
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