The Bad PlaceEnglish – The Conversation | Making tech giants pay for news was a success the first time around. It can be done again by Rod Sims, Enterprise Professor, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne
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The article reviews Australia’s pioneering News Media Bargaining Code, which forced Google and Meta to negotiate payments with news organisations after a market‑failure analysis showed that platforms profit from news content without compensating its producers. Introduced following the ACCC’s Digital Platform Inquiry, the code required designated platforms to negotiate with all eligible public‑interest media or face arbitration, leading to over AU$1 billion in deals—about AU$250 million per year—within the first five years, with smaller outlets often receiving higher per‑journalist payments. When Meta’s three‑year contracts expired it withdrew news, highlighting a weakness of the original scheme that only applied to platforms actually carrying news. To address this, the government is now proposing a News Bargaining Incentive that would apply to platforms regardless of news carriage, setting payment benchmarks and imposing a higher “charge” if deals are not made, though it removes the arbitration fallback and allows platforms to negotiate with as few as four outlets. The author argues that while the incentive introduces new complexities, it continues Australia’s leadership in protecting journalism and could be legislated by mid‑year, provided refinements are made.
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