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The Facebook decision in Australia is 100% reasonable, and the Australian govt and the ACCC only have themselves to blame for it.
They had tried to force FB to pay for links to news orgs *and* give advance notice of algorithmic changes to them. These were crazy demands.
They had tried to force FB to pay for links to news orgs *and* give advance notice of algorithmic changes to them. These were crazy demands.
The best article on the proposals is here.
The govt was clear that the "unfairness" was FB supposedly free-riding on news org content. Wrong then, but now they've changed their position and say FB has a legal duty to carry news content *and* pay for it! https://promarket.org/2020/09/21/australias-news-media-digital-platforms-bargaining-code-great-politics-questionable-economics/
The govt was clear that the "unfairness" was FB supposedly free-riding on news org content. Wrong then, but now they've changed their position and say FB has a legal duty to carry news content *and* pay for it! https://promarket.org/2020/09/21/australias-news-media-digital-platforms-bargaining-code-great-politics-questionable-economics/
Facebook is not an essential facility for the provision of news. Social media isn't even the main way Australians access news, and in social media Facebook is just one option.
Obviously, this was a shake-down by the Australian govt, under pressure from News Corp. Google caved, Facebook didn't. Good for them – and I hope they do the same if the EU tries to bully them in the same way. https://newscorp.com/2021/02/17/news-corp-and-google-agree-to-global-partnership-on-news/
This is important. Newspaper revenues have been falling mostly because they've lost *classified* ad revenues, not because of Google / FB. It's a mistake to think some bamboo toothbrush company advertising on IG would have advertised on The Times otherwise. https://twitter.com/ronanlyons/status/1362352026290712577
I'm not sanguine about what's happening to news at all. The NYT's shift to subs has helped make it more extreme and weirdo-leftist.
And the industry's general reliance on young, low-paid staff means news orgs are adopting dumb, fashionable beliefs that filter into news coverage.
And the industry's general reliance on young, low-paid staff means news orgs are adopting dumb, fashionable beliefs that filter into news coverage.
I don't object in principle to attempts to change this, inc some kind of public subsidy – although I can't see that actually working in practice. I'd love to hear other ideas for making this "Conquest's Law on crack" less bad.
The Aussie plan wasn't that - it was a shakedown.
The Aussie plan wasn't that - it was a shakedown.
I mean, look at this. "Bringing an entire country to its knees" by, uh, not linking to news articles it was being forced to pay for.
This is the kind of feverish nonsense that some sections of the anti-Big Tech world have embraced. It's bananas. https://twitter.com/davidcicilline/status/1362172969699704833?s=21
This is the kind of feverish nonsense that some sections of the anti-Big Tech world have embraced. It's bananas. https://twitter.com/davidcicilline/status/1362172969699704833?s=21
Stratechery today is excellent on this, esp on how the Google-News Corp deal exposes the shake-down nature of it all.
This whole thing feels humiliating for the ACCC, which has allowed itself to be used as a tool for rent-seeking by News Corp – which is now clear to see.
This whole thing feels humiliating for the ACCC, which has allowed itself to be used as a tool for rent-seeking by News Corp – which is now clear to see.
