Platform operators like Google and Meta that showcase news reports produced by news agencies and journalists generate a surplus of revenue thanks to the platform-publisher interaction, according to a recent study in the US. The news comes at a time when states are increasingly pressured to battle with these companies to secure a fair share of the pie for their media community.   

Australia started rolling back in 2021 with its landmark News Media Bargaining Code. The legislation led to Google and Meta entering into contractual agreements with several media corporations in the country, accounting for an estimated AUD 200 million in annual revenue to the sector. Ever since, others have tried to replicate Australia's deal but have been met with much pushback from the tech sector. Platforms have even gone as far as to pull news from their platforms in some jurisdictions. To date, countries with the issue high on the agenda include Indonesia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Switzerland, Brazil, Japan and the United States. 

In the US, the fight is in the form of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, first introduced in March this year. It has already been the subject of heated debates in several states, including California and Minnesota; however, the bill has been placed on ice until 2024. 

The study, conducted by a group of experts at the Continental, found that even though Meta and Google continue to threaten to pull news reports, they have increased payouts to some agencies but within the framework of non-disclosure agreements. The experts suggest that those figures are however no where near what the companies should be paying, an estimated USD 11-14 billion in the US alone.

Why does it matter?

Journalism like many other sectors in the creative industries have been affected by the current tides of the technological revolution. In this case, unless Meta and Google agree to fairly split the surplus they derive from the platform-publisher interaction, this legacy industry faces being pushed over an already slippery slope.