SYDNEY – New Zealand’s conservative Coalition government said Tuesday it will bring forward legislation that would require digital technology platforms to pay media companies for news.
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The bill comes as New Zealand media companies battle it out with technology companies for advertising dollars and seek new ways to deliver news programming.
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The Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, introduced by the previous Labor government last year, will be brought before Parliament with changes to help local media companies make money from the news they produce, Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith said.
Mr Goldsmith said the proposed changes would bring the deal more closely into line with Australia’s digital bargaining code.
The law, which came into force in Australia in March 2021, gives the government the power to force internet companies such as Facebook parent Meta Platforms and Alphabet Inc’s Google to negotiate content supply deals with media outlets if the parties can’t reach an agreement on payment.
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Mehta said New Zealand’s bill ignores the realities of how platforms in the country work, their autonomy, the preferences of their users and the free value they provide to news media.
“As this bill evolves, we will continue to be open and transparent with the government and publishers about our business decisions,” a Meta spokesman said in an emailed statement.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mehta has blocked news content from appearing on Facebook in Canada after Canada introduces similar legislation in 2023. Mehta has also said it plans to stop paying news fees to Australian media companies, and the government is still considering whether to intervene.
Goldsmith said the proposed changes would give the communications minister the power to decide which digital platforms would be subject to the law. He said an independent regulator would be appointed to oversee the bill.
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Goldsmith said one of the governing coalition partners, the right-wing ACT New Zealand Party, would not support the bill, which would need the support of other parties to pass.
The opposition Labour Party said it would examine the amendments but supported the intent of the bill.
“We are relieved to see that the government is using common sense to bring forward legislation that will create a fairer media environment for news organisations operating online,” Labour’s media and broadcasting spokesman Willie Jackson said in a statement.
This article has been generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
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