Google says it would stop linking to news if NZ media funding bill unchanged

Friday, 4 October 2024

Google has threatened to hide news stories from its search results if the Government doesn’t change a plan to force it to contribute to the cost of journalism.

The Government has committed to passing a law initially drafted by the former Labour government that would require both Google and Facebook owner Meta to reach licensing deals for media content shared through their platforms on terms that could ultimately be set by a regulator.

But Google country director Caroline Rainsford said in blog post on Friday it had been transparent with the Government that if the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill was to “proceed on its current trajectory and became law” there would be consequences.

“We would be forced to make significant changes to our products and news investments. Specifically, we’d be forced to stop linking to news content on Google Search, Google News, or Discover surfaces in New Zealand,” she said.

Google would also discontinue its current voluntary agreements through which it partners with and provides some financial support to news publishers, she said.

News Publishers' Association spokesperson Andrew Holden said Google had deliberately misrepresented the legislation in its blog and demonstrated “the kind of pressure that it has been applying to the Government and news media companies”.

The bill would create the environment for media companies to “sit down and have a proper commercial negotiation with ‘big tech’ companies about their use of our journalism”, he said.

“This has only become necessary because the likes of Google have distorted the market, and become some of the largest and most powerful businesses in corporate history.”

The Government should be able to make laws to strengthen democracy “without being subjected to this kind of corporate bullying, Holden said.

“Today, all New Zealand publishers have also received communication from Google that make it clear they will punish those with existing agreements if the Government progresses with this legislation.”

Stuff owner Sinead Boucher said the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill sought to bring “the largest and most powerful companies the world has ever seen” to the negotiating table to pay for the “local content they profit from”.

“It will ensure they are not above the law of New Zealand, as they have tried to be in other jurisdictions including Australia and Canada,” she said.

Google’s blog misrepresented the current relationship ‘big tech’ had with news media, she said.

“Google is characterising their limited payments to news companies as ‘support’ but this is not altruism; it is a limited fee to licence specific content for use in Google commercial products.

“To make it clear, no one is asking Google, or anyone else, to pay for linking to news,” Boucher said.

“We are asking them to pay for the utilisation of our journalism that drives vast profits into their businesses through their ability to generate content, data and sell advertising around it. They earn $1 billion from the New Zealand market in this way every year.”

Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith said the Government was still considering “a range of views” and consulting on the legislation.

“My officials and I have met with Google on a number of occasions to discuss their concerns, and will continue to do so,” he said.

The Government has been expected to make some changes to the former government’s drafting of the bill before bringing it back to Parliament for its second reading.

But Goldsmith told The Post last month that the response from major internet companies to the bill had been “nothing surprising” and he still hoped the legislation would be in place by the end of the year.

The Act Party had previously announced that it would not support the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill.

Leader David Seymour responded to Google’s blog post by saying the Government was “playing chicken” with Google, and New Zealanders stood to lose.

“The internet has made it easier than ever to report news and certain outlets need to stop blaming the internet and start looking at their product,” he said.

Holden said Seymour was wrong. News publishers did not have an audience problem ‒ they remained very popular ‒ the issue was with the market.

He said Google had no reporters on the ground covering the flooding in Otago but would be making money from the hard work of New Zealand journalists.

Meta has responded to similar legislation in Canada by blocking Canadians from sharing or viewing news content through Facebook, Goldsmith has previously noted.

The Brazilian government is reported to have considered introducing a “must carry” obligation in the face of concerns about a similar response there.

That would prevent Google and Facebook discriminating against news content simply on the basis on having to participate in such funding arrangements.

Seymour questioned in July whether New Zealand would have the clout to take that approach.

The size of Brazil’s economy and population made that a different proposition there, he said.

Google sent a message to media businesses on Friday notifying them of its blog and inviting them to “discuss any questions or concerns”.

Rainsford indicated in her blog that Google would be willing to support the media in other ways, saying the company had proposed “reasonable and balanced alternatives to the draft bill”.

“Google is currently the only tech company providing financial support to New Zealand's news industry — as we have been for over two years.”

She did not spell out the degree to which it thought the Government needed to change course, but pointed to a “partnership” arrangement Google had reached with media in the state of California.

A spokesperson for Google said it could not go into more detail than it had done in its blog at this stage.

Discussions over the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill are coming to a head as the media industry braces for more job losses.

TVNZ is expected to set out high-level options for plugging a $30 million annual funding gap next week, with speculation that could see it axe either channel TV2 and Duke, or both.

Whakaata Māori is separately developing plans for an “organisational realignment” to cope with an annual reduction of more than $10m in its funding by 2027.

Kaihautū Shane Taurima said that was a “crucial step in addressing the financial challenges we anticipate over the coming years”.