Big Tech S3E8: Rod Sims On Australia’s New Law to Rebalance Media Power
March 1, 2021
Listen to this week’s new episode of Big Tech, where Rod Sims, the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) discusses newly implemented law in Australia requiring Facebook and Google to pay news companies for linking to their work and why journalism’s role in democratic society is more essential than ever.
The world watched as the Australian government passed a new law in February 2021 requiring Facebook and Google to pay news businesses for linking to their work. In the lead-up to its passing, Facebook followed through on its threat to remove news from its platform. But many viewed Facebook’s move as only reinforcing the government’s position that big tech had market dominance.
In this episode of Big Tech, Taylor Owen speaks with Rod Sims, the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The ACCC conducted a market study to determine if there was a market failure in the journalism sector. It found that Facebook and Google were benefiting from the local news industry’s content and that these businesses were unable to seek appropriate compensation. The ACCC’s recommendation, the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code, creates a code of conduct that Australian news businesses can use to bargain with Facebook and Google, using the negotiate-arbitrate model.
Taylor and Rod discuss how the ACCC came to the decision that a negotiate-arbitrate model needed to be applied, how the new code will function, why journalism’s role in democratic society is more essential than ever, and what these issues mean for the average citizen and social media user.
