Josh Frydenberg confirms ACCC’s digital code to be finalised this year

The long-awaited media bargaining code that would force tech giants to pay news publishers for their content will be finalised within the next four weeks.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg: ‘This is an important reform that will strengthen competition and improve the sustainability of the Australian media landscape.’ Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The long-awaited media bargaining code that would force tech giants to pay news publishers for their content will be finalised within four weeks.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirmed to The Australian on Sunday that the code — drafted by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission following consultations with media companies and digital platforms — will definitely be completed by the end of the parliamentary year on December 10.

Legislation for the code has been delayed since the government first announced in April that it intended to “level the playing field” by requiring digital platforms such as Google and Facebook to pay news media businesses for the content they produce.

Initially, Mr Frydenberg expressed plans to have the code legislated soon after the release of the draft mandatory code in July. The government’s focus on the coronavirus crisis appeared to skew that timeline, and more recently there have been claims that the tech giants were fiercely lobbying for favourable amendments to the code at the last minute, which could have blocked any chance of legislation being passed this year.

But on Sunday, Mr Frydenberg put a final timeline on the legislation of the media bargaining code.

“The News Media and Digital Platforms Bargaining Code will address bargaining power imbalances between digital platforms and media companies following an 18-month review into digital platforms by the ACCC,” he told The Australian.

“The government has conducted a further targeted round of consultation with key stakeholders and will carefully assess the feedback we have received before finalising legislation to give effect to the code by the end of the year.

“This is an important reform that will strengthen competition and improve the sustainability of the Australian media landscape.”

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller: ‘I agree with the Treasurer that we should seize the moment to have a world-leading code in place this year.’

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said: “This has been a tough year for all Australian media. I agree with the Treasurer that we should seize the moment to have a world-leading code in place this year.”

The mandatory code will cover issues including the sharing of data, ranking of news content online and the sharing of revenue generated from news.

It is also expected that the code will allow news media businesses to prevent or remove comments on individual news stories posted on digital platforms such as Facebook. Their present inability to do so leaves news companies open to defamation actions arising from outsiders’ comments posted on such sites.

In a speech last month, ACCC chairman Rod Sims said further regulation of digital platforms may be considered by the industry watchdog, even after the bargaining code is legislated.

“The digital platforms, Google and Facebook, clearly have market power. It is simply extraordinary how the digital platforms continue to reject that they have market power when everyone else sees it as obvious,” he said.

“Further, their ‘take it or leave it’ attitude to dealing with news media businesses is damaging journalism, which in my strong view is essential to our society.

“The main digital platforms have accumulated huge wealth from innovation, and later steps to cement their market power. While we have all benefited from their innovation, we must ensure the innovation of others is not stifled.”