Google Is Abruptly Paying for Information in Australia. What About In all places Else?

Josh Frydenberg, who as federal treasurer would have enormous discretion over the new legislation, has his own media relations. In 2016, he was the best man at the wedding of Ryan Stokes, son of Kerry Stokes, the billionaire of Seven West Media, one of the companies that signed a deal with Google.

In short, it’s no surprise that the Australian government views America’s tech companies that have done themselves a disservice by trying to evade local taxes as less worthy of support than the dominant national media.

“We have this peculiar symbiosis between the news business and the government at the time,” said Jim Minifie, an economist at Lateral Economics, a consulting firm specializing in digital public policy. “There’s a more natural alliance between the center-right government and the news that affects things.”

The legislation under consideration includes a code of conduct that will allow media companies to negotiate, individually or jointly with digital platforms, the value of their news content. The Code is designed to eliminate “bargaining power imbalances” between the two sides by forcing disputes, in part, into final arbitration. It would initially only apply to Facebook and Google, although other digital platforms could be added.

Almost everything related to the law is causing dismay in Google’s offices in Australia. The process has often been described as a shakedown, spearheaded by powerful insiders, as if Google were a start-up at risk. The frustration goes both ways. Some Australian politicians cite Google’s threat to blackmail the country.

However, communications minister Paul Fletcher said Sturm und Drang had overlooked that the process began more than three years ago. The proposed code, which was originally conceived as voluntary, has evolved into a binding and stricter regulation as the giant platforms need to take greater account of the value of credible information from established outlets.

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