D-day on the horizon for Meta: Stephen Jones set to make a call on news media bargaining code
The federal government is set to decide in the coming fortnight whether to force Meta to negotiate payment-for-content deals with Australian news media companies.
The federal government is set to decide, in the coming fortnight, whether to force Meta to negotiate payment-for-content deals with Australian news media companies.
In 2021, the Morrison government introduced the news media bargaining code – legislation that required tech giants such as Meta and Google to pay for the right to display Australian news content on their platforms.
In February this year, Meta – owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads – announced that it wouldn’t be renewing its commercial deals with Australian news publishers, which were worth an estimated $70m a year to the industry.
Under the terms of the bargaining code, the Australian government could “designate” Meta, which would force the Mark Zuckerberg-controlled company back to the bargaining table to reach commercial terms with Australian media companies.
Meta would then likely face hundreds of millions of dollars in fines if it were designated under the code and still refused to negotiate deals.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has ministerial oversight of the matter, after Jim Chalmers recused himself to avoid potential conflicts of interest, given that his wife works as a journalist for News Corp (publisher of The Australian).
At the weekend, a spokesperson for Mr Jones would not be drawn on the timing of a decision on whether the federal government would designate Meta.
“The Albanese government supports journalists and a vibrant media industry in this country,” the spokesperson said.
“We want to ensure that companies like Meta continue to make a contribution to public interest journalism in this country. The government will have more to say soon.”
Sources have told The Australian that a decision on designation is expected before Christmas.
A decision on Meta comes as negotiations continue between Australian news publishers and Google about the renewal of payment-for-content deals between those parties.
The existing deals between Google and Australian news media companies are yet to expire.
When Meta announced it was walking away from its commercial deals with Australian news publishers, it tried to justify its move by claiming news made up only 3 per cent of what people around the world saw on their Facebook feed.
Data from a subsequent independent study, collected by third-party research provider Dynata, revealed that more than 40 per cent of Australians cited “news” as their reason to use social media daily.
Last year, Meta blocked access to posts from media organisations for Canadian users after that country’s government demanded – unsuccessfully – that the tech giant negotiate payment-for-content deals with local news companies.
There were unconfirmed reports earlier this year that the Albanese government was deeply concerned that Meta would go further than what it had done in Canada, and pull Facebook from Australia altogether if the company was designated under the news media bargaining code.
A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment on Sunday.
The looming decision on whether to designate Meta under the news media bargaining company follows last month’s move by the Albanese government to prevent under-16s from accessing social media platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X and others.
Companies that breach the minimum age obligation will face fines of up to $50m, and parents will not be able to give their consent to allow under 16s to use the platforms.
“Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” Anthony Albanese said last month.
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