By David Chavern, New York Times
The U.S. should emulate the French government’s resolve to fight for the news media industry.
Much of the news business is being hammered by the decline in advertising because of Covid-19, just when the public most needs reliable information. While digital audiences are way up, the rapid contraction in revenue has so far caused 33,000 news media employees to be furloughed, to be laid off or to suffer reduced pay.
But in the midst of this crisis, something very good just happened for journalism: French antitrust authorities ordered Google to negotiate with publishers to pay for the news content shown in search results. It is the first time that a major digital platform has been required to pay for news anywhere.
France’s action stems from a new European Union Copyright Directive, and Germany and other countries will be next. This means that in the United States, the pressure to similarly compensate stressed local publishers will be extremely high.
There are several ways the pressure on Google could be brought to bear. If Congress passes the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, publishers would be allowed to negotiate rates with Google as a group. Alternatively, publishers might finally be forced to undertake their own lengthy copyright litigation. In any case, I believe that Google will eventually be required to treat news publishers, like music publishers, as equals.
We have argued for some time that the big tech platforms should be an answer for journalism, rather than a problem. They are the main distributors of news and they benefit greatly from the engagement that comes with it. Just think of all of the hundreds of millions of people who went to Google and Facebook over the last few months for information about the coronavirus.
These platforms pay for music and lots of other kinds of content, and last year Facebook even agreed to pay a limited number of publishers for its News Tab. But most local publishers were left out of that deal. And Google has refused to pay them anything.
Featured News
CVS Health Explores Potential Breakup Amid Investor Pressure: Report
Oct 3, 2024 by
CPI
DirecTV Acquires Dish TV, Creating 20 Million-Subscriber Powerhouse
Oct 3, 2024 by
CPI
South Korea Fines Kakao Mobility $54.8 Million for Anti-Competitive Practices
Oct 3, 2024 by
CPI
Google Offers Settlement in India’s Antitrust Case Regarding Smart TVs
Oct 3, 2024 by
CPI
Attorney Challenges NCAA’s $2.78 Billion Settlement in Landmark Antitrust Cases
Oct 3, 2024 by
nhoch@pymnts.com
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Refusal to Deal
Sep 27, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust’s Refusal-to-Deal Doctrine: The Emperor Has No Clothes
Sep 27, 2024 by
Erik Hovenkamp
Why All Antitrust Claims are Refusal to Deal Claims and What that Means for Policy
Sep 27, 2024 by
Ramsi Woodcock
The Aspen Misadventure
Sep 27, 2024 by
Roger Blair & Holly P. Stidham
Refusal to Deal in Antitrust Law: Evolving Jurisprudence and Business Justifications in the Align Technology Case
Sep 27, 2024 by
Timothy Hsieh