On a Thursday in February, Australians woke to find their Facebook feeds emptied of news, a blackout the company imposed on local and international outlets alike in answer to Canberra's proposed arbitration scheme for paying publishers. It is a small moment in a long human story about who controls the channels through which a society learns what is happening, and how much a democratic state can ask of companies that have grown larger than many of the nations they serve. Google, meanwhile, chose a quieter path, signing private deals that keep its terms out of view. Whether Australia's attempt t
Facebook and Google Flex Their Muscle in Australia's News Payment Fight
Facebook blocked news, even posts from health and emergency services
Mark
Why does Facebook's block matter beyond Australia?
Mimi
Because it shows how far the company will go to shape the rules. It cut off news, including posts from health and emergency services, rather than accept the arbitration system Canberra planned.
Mark
And Google chose a different path?
Mimi
Yes. It's negotiating, including a three-year deal with News Corp, but on its own terms, under its News Showcase product rather than search.
Luke
Worth flagging that this is a Breakingviews column, so it's analysis, not straight reporting. Phrases like 'disingenuous' and 'admirably' are the author's judgment.
Mark
What about Facebook's claim that news is 4% of feeds?
Mimi
That's the company's contention. The column counters with a University of Canberra study: 39% of Australians use Facebook for general news, and half used it for Covid-19 news.
Luke
Those figures measure different things, though. One is share of feed content, the other is how many people use it for news. They don't strictly contradict each other.
Mark
Why does secrecy around Google's deals matter?
Mimi
The column says that with most details hidden, it's harder for other governments to copy Canberra's approach.
Luke
And the prediction that tech firms will be only mildly scarred is the author's expectation, not an established outcome. We don't know yet whether the model spreads.
Il Polso
- Facebook cut off news for Australians across the board, catching even health and emergency service posts in the blackout.
- Treasurer Josh Frydenberg publicly condemned the block as the government's binding arbitration plan hangs in the balance.
- Google is racing to lock in private publisher contracts, including a three-year pact with News Corp, sidestepping its search business.
- Deal terms remain hidden behind News Showcase, leaving other governments without a clear blueprint to follow.
- Analysts expect the tech giants to emerge only mildly scarred, while struggling newsrooms gain revenue but little lasting leverage.
On a Thursday in February, Australians woke to find their Facebook feeds emptied of news, a blackout the company imposed on local and international outlets alike in answer to Canberra's proposed arbitration scheme for paying publishers. It is a small moment in a long human story about who controls the channels through which a society learns what is happening, and how much a democratic state can ask of companies that have grown larger than many of the nations they serve. Google, meanwhile, chose a quieter path, signing private deals that keep its terms out of view. Whether Australia's attempt to make platforms share their profits with the press becomes a template elsewhere remains an open question, and the outcome may shape how much the public's news is treated as a commons rather than a commodity.
On Thursday, Australians opened Facebook and found the news gone. The platform had blocked publishers and readers from sharing or viewing news, local and international alike, as a direct response to Canberra's plan for a binding arbitration system that would step in when technology companies and publishers failed to strike their own deals. Health and emergency service posts were swept up in the blackout too, drawing sharp criticism from Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, a champion of the media-bargaining code.
Reuters Breakingviews sees the episode as a clear display of the corporate clout Facebook and Google wield. Facebook, valued at $780 billion and led by Mark Zuckerberg, says news makes up only 4% of what people see, yet a University of Canberra study found that 39% of Australians use it for general news, and half used it to follow Covid-19. The column calls that position disingenuous and warns that the real threat to the company is Australia's model spreading to other countries.
Google has taken a different route, negotiating contracts with publishers, including Thomson Reuters, the parent of Breakingviews, and this week a three-year deal with News Corp. Those agreements sit under News Showcase, an unproven product launched after Australia's crackdown began, rather than under search, and most of their details remain private. The column judges the deal a step in the right direction, though it notes Google is steering largely on its own terms.
Struggling media companies will welcome the revenue and the government's effort to level the playing field. Yet the verdict is that they will barely dent Big Tech's dominance, and the question to watch is whether other governments adopt Australia's model, the very outcome the platforms seem most determined to prevent.
On Thursday, Australians opened Facebook and found that news was gone. The company had blocked publishers and users from sharing or viewing news, local and international alike, across the country. The move was a direct answer to Canberra's plan for a binding arbitration system, which would step in if technology companies and publishers could not reach commercial deals on their own.
The analysis, from Reuters Breakingviews, argues that this episode puts the corporate clout of Facebook and Google on full display. Its central judgment is that U.S. technology giants are increasingly likely to come out of the Australian fight only mildly scarred, even though the Australian government and the media industry are, in the column's words, admirably standing up to them in an effort to force payment for news.
Facebook, valued at $780 billion and led by Mark Zuckerberg, made clear through the block that it wants more sway over how the system works. The column says the real threat to the company is that Australia's model catches on elsewhere. The company has been criticized worldwide for failing to police misinformation, yet here it was willing to remove more authoritative sources of news. The block even caught posts from Australian health and emergency services, which drew criticism from Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, a champion of the media-bargaining code.
Breakingviews calls Facebook's position disingenuous. The company contends that news makes up only 4% of what people see in their feeds. But a University of Canberra study last year found that 39% of Australians use Facebook for general news, and half used it to find news about Covid-19.
Google has taken a different tack, though it too has threatened to abandon the country. It has been negotiating contracts with news providers in Australia and beyond, among them Thomson Reuters, the parent of Breakingviews. This week it unveiled a three-year deal with News Corp, the Rupert Murdoch company that has been instrumental in the push to make technology firms pay for news. The column calls the deal a step in the right direction.
It also shows, the column says, that Google and its $1.4 trillion parent Alphabet are proceeding largely on their own terms. The deals are built under News Showcase, a fledgling and unproven venture Google rolled out after Australia began its crackdown, rather than under its widely used search product. Most of the details are kept under wraps, which makes it harder for other governments to follow Canberra's lead.
Struggling media companies will welcome the added revenue and the Australian government's effort to level the playing field. But the column's verdict is that, in the end, they will have barely chipped away at Big Tech's dominance. What to watch is whether other governments adopt Australia's model, which is the outcome the platforms appear most intent on preventing.
Citazioni salienti
The real threat is that Australia's model catches on elsewhere.— Reuters Breakingviews analysis
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su Reuters ↗
Politics & Governance