Being the second largest online market in the world, India should have already taken steps to force Facebook and Google to share revenue from the use of Indian news content.
Australia on Thursday passed a law that would force Google and Facebook to pay for news content.
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In France, Germany, Spain and Britain, the process of making rules for paying news from Google and Facebook has started.
India is the second largest online market in the world. Therefore, it should have already taken steps to compel the world’s largest technology companies like Facebook and Google to share the revenue from the use of Indian news content. But Australia took this step first.
The Parliament of Australia on Thursday passed a law that would force Google and Facebook to pay for news content. Some other countries have also taken some steps in this direction. European countries, led by France, have started the process of making rules in this direction.
News website gets 80% external traffic from Google and Facebook
Only two companies dominate the news internet traffic. In a column in the Times of India, author Saubhik Chakraborty has written that 80% of external traffic to the news website gets from Google and Facebook. Also, news is a huge source for the traffic these two companies are receiving. About 40% of the trending queries on Google are related to news.
70-80% of digital news advertising earnings are only belied by Google and Facebook
Only Google and Facebook lose 70-80% of the advertising revenue generated by digital usage of news due to their dominance on internet traffic. As digital use of news increases, publishers’ earnings from other sources are declining. But publishers are not spending less to produce reliable news. So these publishers are suffering huge losses due to Google and Facebook.
Google-Facebook dominance threat to democracy
The publishers who have built a brand after decades of hard work have suddenly lost their business model due to these two technology monopoly companies. In such a situation, if the news industry is ruined, then there will be a crisis on the transmission of reliable news. And finally democracy will also face crisis.
Google-Facebook will share earnings, so thousands of jobs will be saved in news industry
Now let’s see what will happen if Google and Facebook have to share their earnings with publishers too. The news industry of the watchdog of democracy will get financial strength. Thousands of jobs in the news industry will survive.
Government’s tax earnings will increase
If the revenue from Google and Facebook news content is shared with the publishers, then the government’s tax revenue will increase, because it is easier to collect tax from domestic news companies than to collect tax from multinationals. Based on this thinking, Australia has taken steps to force global tech companies to share a share of the revenue from news content.
Australia wants to strengthen its news industry financially
The Australian government wants the news industry to be financially sound, as Australian democracy knows that a commercially competent Australian news industry is essential to it. That is why France, Germany, Spain and Britain have also started making rules on big tech companies. That is why the Government of India should definitely take steps.
It is easier for India to force tech companies to share content earnings
It has now become easier for India to do so. India has seen that Google of Facebook has started dealing with publishers in Australia. If India too takes steps in this direction, then Google and Facebook will not be able to ignore the Indian market given the huge market in India.
The Competition Commission of India can start in this direction with an inquiry
There are several options. The Competition Commission of India can initiate an inquiry in this direction. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting can take initiative in this direction. The Ministry can seek opinion from all the parties in 45 days. It can then set a deadline for drafting the bill, as Australia did.
India may impose a license fee on the content
The government can set up a digital agency to address various issues arising in this direction. This agency may also include news publishers. In addition, a license fee can be levied on the content through the Copyright Act. Australia has also adopted the same route.
India can issue notice to tech companies
Therefore, the government can do much more and much faster. At the global level, an atmosphere has also been created for this. In many countries, notice has been issued to big technology companies to destroy reliable independent journalism. India can also issue such a notice. A self-reliant India also needs a self-sufficient news industry.
Legislation made in Australia, Google-Facebook will now have to pay for news
Australia’s parliament on Thursday approved the final amendment to the news media Bargain Code. This law would force Google and Facebook to pay for news. However, MPs say that it will take some time for tech companies to enter into an agreement with news publishers. The other part of the Bill had already been passed in Parliament. Therefore, this bill has now become law and is ready to be implemented. Facebook has lifted the ban on Australians for viewing and sharing news after legislation was passed in Australia’s Parliament.
Facebook said it would give $ 1 billion to the news industry in 3 years
Meanwhile, Facebook said that it would invest $ 1 billion in the next 3 years to support the news industry. The social networking platform said that since 2018 she has invested $ 600 million in news. Earlier in October, Google also said that it would pay publishers $ 1 billion in the next 3 years. Facebook also said that it would now tie up with publishers in Australia. Google has already tied up with some Australian media companies. Google has said that it has tied up with more than 50 publishers in Australia and more than 500 publishers worldwide.