‘Trust us’ doesn’t cut it with tech titans: Michael Miller

Self-regulation by Google and Facebook has failed, according to News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller.

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller. Picture: Supplied

Self-regulation by Google and Facebook has failed and the ACCC needs to follow through on recommendations to restore trust in the way news organisations and advertisers deal with the tech ­titans, News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller says.

Speaking during a panel discussion in Sydney on trust in news and advertising, Mr Miller said he agreed with Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims that it was no longer enough for digital ­platforms to work on the basis of “trust us”.

He added that the experience of media companies mirrored that of the regulator when dealing with Google and Facebook.

“In our experience, in servicing our own journalism, we sought a change from Google in their search algorithms on ‘one click free’ that took too many years,” he said. “We’ve had those conver­sations on trust, and they’ve taken too long.”

Following the release of the competition watchdog’s 619-page report on the impact of digital platforms on traditional media, Mr Sims told The Australian that he was shocked digital giants would regularly say “trust us” so as to avoid having to abide by mandatory regulation.

“We did speak to them about a range of our recommendations and I think their answer was, ‘Well look, we’ll do that, just don’t make it compulsory. We’ll do a range of things under the heading of trust us’, which I don’t think is going to work,” he said. “The most disturbing thing was the indifference to what’s going on their platforms.”

Mr Miller said while he was not a believer in regulation being the answer for business, it was clear in the case of the digital platforms that “self-regulation is not working either”.

The report recommends a code of conduct for the likes of Google and Facebook and traditional media to govern revenue-sharing, competition and fair use of journalism, governed by the Australian Communi­cations and Media Authority.

Mr Miller said News Corp was attempting to have the newspaper and the journalist who broke a story prioritised in Google searches, but was continually being told it was too hard. “Our biggest issue at the ­moment is being referenced, ensuring the creator of the content, the providence of that content, the journalist, is found as the original creator. We are told that’s too hard. These are companies that can automate cars on roads. It has taken too long.”

Mr Miller said “fake news” on digital platforms had aided traditional newspapers as readers and advertisers were looking for trusted news outlets.

“Increasingly, we are seeing we’re benefiting from the growth of the trust economy being driven by the mass distribution of fake news and questionable sources,” he said. “We’re increasingly seeing consumers pay for trusted content and branded content from brands that they trust.

“In our case, people want to know, is it sourced, is it researched, is it checked, is it edited?”