CEP Magazine (November 2020)

A proposed regulation, currently in draft form, seeks to create a level playing field for Australian news media organizations and global technology companies such as Google and Facebook. The News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code regulation^[1] would require^[2] large tech companies to, among other things, provide information on how and when Google and Facebook make available the user data collected through interactions with news content.

Facebook has stated^[3] that it would be forced to remove news services for Australia should the regulation become law, and Google issued an open letter^[4] —sent to Australians in the form of a pop-up ad with warning signs—stating that it would fight to ensure the draft does not become law.

1 “News media bargaining code,” Project Overview, Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, accessed September 2, 2020, https://bit.ly/32JDC4p.
2 Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, Q&As: Draft news media and digital platforms mandatory bargaining code, July 2020, https://bit.ly/2Gj94ip.
3 Asha Barbaschow, “Facebook vows no more news if Australia's media bargaining code becomes law,” ZDNet, September 1, 2020, https://zd.net/3i21Z3T.
4 Naaman Zhou, “Google’s open letter to Australians about news code contains ‘misinformation’, ACCC says,” The Guardian, August 17, 2020, https://bit.ly/2QJh667.

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