Digital news bill help for sector ‘under enormous pressure’, says minister
Tuesday, 2 July 2024
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The Government will pass a bill forcing internet giants including Google and Meta help fund the media, reversing the stance taken by the National Party when in Opposition.
But it has delayed deciding whether it needs to intervene to ensure media firms are compensated for technology companies using their stories to train Artificial Intelligence (AI) engines.
Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith described the media industry as a sector that was under enormous pressure.
The Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill will require designated search and social media firms reach licensing deals with publishers for local news shared through their platforms on terms that could ultimately be set by compulsory arbitration.
Goldsmith said it was possible Meta might respond as it had done in other countries by barring its members from sharing news on Facebook, but appeared unfazed.
The law change, originally drafted by Labour and which the Government will advance with some tweaks, is expected to provide media outlets with a stream of income potentially totalling several tens of millions of dollars a year.
That should go some way towards plugging a large gap in revenues left by a decline in traditional print and broadcast advertising.
Stuff Group owner Sinead Boucher said the Government’s support for the legislation was “excellent” and “the next step towards a constructive relationship between media companies that invest in journalism and the global platforms that use our content”.
News Publishers' Association spokesperson Andrew Holden said the law was not a silver bullet for the media’s challenges but would bring additional revenue to the media industry, as similar laws had done in Australia and Canada.
Research showed the key issue for the media was not a lack of innovation or trust but “being able to gain true value from its journalism in an advertising market that has been deliberately skewed to favour big tech companies”, he said.
Google has been approached for comment.
Meta issued a statement saying the bill ignored the realities of how its platforms worked, “their voluntary nature, the preferences of the people who use them and the free value we provide news publishers”.
The National Party signalled when in Opposition that it would not advance the legislation if elected, but Warner Bros Discovery’s announcement in February that it would close its Newshub journalism arm appears to have contributed to a rethink.
New Zealand First has also been an advocate within the coalition government for ensuring the survival of local media.
As forecast, Goldsmith announced some tweaks that will see it modelled more closely along the lines of a similar law that applies in Australia.
The key change was he as minister would decide which digital platforms were captured by the bill, he said.
Goldsmith also said “an appropriate independent regulator” would be appointed as the authority that could ultimately decide what it was fair for digital platforms to pay.
ACT leader David Seymour described the bill as a “sop” that would not solve the fundamental challenges facing traditional media and that could have unintended consequences.
Meta had responded to similar legislation in Canada by blocking Canadians from sharing or viewing news content through Facebook, he noted.
Goldsmith said National, NZ First and ACT had agreed ACT could hold a differing view on the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill. That meant the bill would rely on the support of other parties to pass, he said.
Labour broadcasting spokesperson Willie Jackson said the party would confirm its position in a few days after looking at the Government’s amendments but supported the intent of the bill.