Goldsmith downplays reaction from internet giants to contentious media bill

Thursday, 12 September 2024

Media Minister Paul Goldsmith appears unrattled by the idea search and social media giants could react with hostility to the media funding law.

Media Minister Paul Goldsmith has brushed off concerns that internet giants may respond badly to having to fund local media, amid speculation that Google is threatening to change the way it does business here.

Goldsmith announced in July that the Government would enact the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill drafted by the former government and he told The Post it was still his hope the legislation would be in place by the end of the year.

The bill would force at least Google and Facebook to sign licensing agreements with the media on terms that could ultimately be set by a regulator and is expected to provide a new revenue stream worth tens of millions of dollars to help fund journalism.

ACT says it's invoked the ‘agree to disagree’ provisions of the coalition agreement, opposing the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill.

Meta responded to a similar law in Canada by blocking Canadians from sharing news content through Facebook and Instragram and has threatened to take the same action in Australia if it is forced to fund journalism there.

Google has appeared to take a less hard-line stance overseas, but speculation has been reported that it is also warning it might respond to the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill by changing the way it does business in the country.

Google New Zealand country director Caroline Rainsford said it had transparently outlined its concerns with the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill.

“We remain committed to New Zealand and look forward to continuing to engage constructively with the Government on a sustainable path forward,” she said.

The Government is 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 indicated there were no major hiccups.

“We're just working our way through the details of it and, when we're ready, we'll bring it back,” he told The Post earlier this week.

The feedback from major internet companies had been “nothing surprising”, he said.

“The positions are all very public and well understood.”

Goldsmith would not detail the specifics of what aspects of the bill still needed to be nailed down but said they were are all issues that were “quite well-canvassed”.

“It's just a balancing act that we're trying to work through.

“It is quite a difficult area in terms of trying to get an understanding of the international digital players vis a vis the local media. I've been talking to the various groups and just going through it in a careful and considered way,” he said.