Journalism Competition and Preservation Act: US lawmakers introduce revised version of the bill, Google will have to share the right revenue with publishers.
US lawmakers on Monday introduced a revised version of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act. Through this bill, it will be possible for news publishers to interact with big tech platforms like Google and Facebook and this will help publishers to get the right revenue for their content. Actually, companies like Google-Facebook use the content of news organizations but do not share the right amount of revenue. This step of America is also important for India.
Both the Indian government and the country’s news organizations want to democratize the digital media space and the US move is a big boost in that direction. This is because America is seen as a beacon of democracy and free speech. The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) welcomed the US development. DNPA is a platform for the digital arm of India’s top media organizations.
A big step in the right direction
A DNPA source said, “It is heartening for US lawmakers to take such a step to curb the monopolistic tendencies of powerful platforms like Google. This is a big step in the right direction. The DNPA has been demanding for the past few years to make Google’s revenue sharing model more transparent with digital media houses in India. Earlier this year, the Competition Commission of India had launched an investigation against Google on a complaint by the DNPA.
Tech giants in front of parliamentary panel
This news from the US has come at a time when several big tech giants are giving information about their activities in front of a parliamentary panel in India. On Tuesday, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance had convened representatives of Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix and a few others to face some tough questions on the monopolistic practices of Big Tech in the country.
Similar Acts in Canada and Australia
Prior to this, the Act has also been passed in Canada and Australia regarding the monopoly of news intermediaries like Google and misuse of position. The Canadian Order provides for fair revenue sharing with news publishers. Even in Australia, tech companies have to share the right revenue with publishers. In fact, the content generated by news media companies provides a platform on which advertisements can be run.
