Finally, tech titans near their day of reckoning

The unfettered media dominance of Facebook, Twitter and Google is coming unstuck.

For more than a decade, the tech giants have taken zero responsibility for ripping news content for commercial gain and allowing extremists to use their platforms to spread hate and disinformation.

The tech companies have been dragged to the negotiating table under threat of a transnational regulatory sledgehammer, aimed at levelling the playing field and ensuring the integrity of democracies across the globe.

Attempts by Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg, the founders of Twitter and Facebook, to censor content on their platforms have misfired. They are playing catch-up after years of looking the other way. Their versions of free speech and public displays of remorse for past behaviour can’t replace trusted, diverse news organisations buttressed by journalistic rigour, which they have sought to cannibalise in pursuit of higher stock prices.

The fight by traditional media companies to be compensated for their content is not only about money — it’s about the principle of presenting news without fear or favour. Journalists, editors and news directors are held responsible for what they publish. If the tech giants want to present themselves as news companies, the same standard must apply.

Despite the protests of Facebook and Google, Josh Frydenberg this week indicated the government was close to finalising its mandatory code of conduct legislation.

The News Media and Digital Platforms Bargaining Code forces the tech giants to negotiate agreements with media companies to pay for news content and share data collection methods. Under current arrangements, for every $100 spent in Australia’s $9bn-a-year online advertising market, $47 goes to Google, $24 to Facebook and $29 to other participants.

The media bargaining code has not been rushed.

The ACCC conducted an 18-month inquiry examining the market power and impact of digital platforms on media, advertisers and consumers.

The next legislative fight for the tech giants looms over their use of end-to-end encryption.

A statement last month by Five Eyes security ministers said “end-to-end encryption that precludes lawful access to the content of communications” created “severe risks to public safety”.

After years of avoiding scrutiny, the tech giants are finally being called out.