I have provided the following quote as President of @withMEAA #MEAAMedia to @IFJGlobal for a statement it is preparing on Google/Facebook threats to leave the Australian market.

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"The News Media Mandatory Bargaining Code in Australia is designed to compensate for the fact that the main distribution channels for news media – Facebook and Google – do not contribute to the costs of producing independent, public-interest journalism.

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“Outside meagre sums from their marketing budget, Facebook and Google have so far been unwilling to contribute meaningfully to the cost of producing the news media that attracts large numbers of people to their platforms.

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"These global tech giants monetise the audiences created by news but do not contribute to the substantial costs that are needed to ensure independent, public-interest journalism.

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“For Facebook and Google to threaten to withdraw from the Australian market shows that they are more concerned with their monopoly profits protection racket than abiding by the democratic laws of sovereign nations.

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“Civil society should determine how technology and information distribution operates, not the profit motives of global corporations.”

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