Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Government says legislation that would force tech giants to compensate news media companies for their journalism is now on hold and might yet be replaced by tougher laws in line with bold new Australian moves.
The Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill was originally due to have been passed by the end of the year but the Government now wants to see how new Australian legislation – announced only yesterday and due to come into force early next year – plays out.
The Australians are not mucking around and are not cowed by threats from the likes of Meta and Google – the tech giants face fines of hundreds of millions of dollars if they do not negotiate in good faith with news media companies to compensate them for the journalism that helps drive their mega-profits.
The further delay to new legislation in New Zealand has been met with disappointment from the news publishing industry, which says there “isn’t any time to waste” following a year in which hundreds of New Zealand journalism jobs have been lost.
Others hope that, longer term, it could make for bolder legislation and stronger compensation.
The Australian moves have clearly given the Government convenient breathing room in the face of strong lobbying from social media and media firms over the past several months.
“We’ll do the obvious thing now that the Australians have signalled a related but different approach,” Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith told Media Insider today.
“[We will] watch how it unfolds over the next couple of months and if it lands well, consider whether or not we seek to shift our approach in that direction. So it’s going to basically postpone our arrangements a little bit, while we see how that lands.”
Goldsmith said Australia had signalled the new legislation would be in place as early as the new year.
“All we can do is watch, see what the reaction is and if it’s a structure that works well, then that’s something that we could potentially seek to emulate. But short term we’ll put our approach on hold for a couple of months while we see how it unfolds over there.”
Goldsmith agreed the Australians were being bold.
Asked how long it might take to redraw legislation – if the Australian structure was working well – Goldsmith did not commit to a timeframe.
“It’s quite a different structure, so that would be something that I’d have to obviously work through with my Cabinet colleagues.
“The one thing you could draw is that previously we signalled that we’d like to try and align ourselves closely with Australia. After we made those announcements six months ago, Google did quite a different deal in California and so we’ve been working away through the rest of the year trying to come up with an arrangement that would work.
“Now the Australians have shifted their approach and so we’re going to have to take stock over the next few months.”
Google has been previously accused by media industry sources of running a targeted campaign, opposing the Government’s planned legislation.
As Media Insider has revealed, Google has been threatening to blow up its New Zealand news agreements and remove any ability for users to find local news on its search engine, in ramped-up threats to oppose new legislation
One source earlier said the tactics were tantamount to bullying. “They’re playing their usual games, being as obnoxious as they can be.”
The source indicated the tech giant had even raised the spectre of reviewing its New Zealand operations – the source said any threat of a pullout would be “ludicrous” and extremely unlikely given Google operated a $1 billion business here and Microsoft would move in rapidly with its own search engine, Bing.
Goldsmith said today there had been conversations with Google but he would not classify their approach as “bullying”. They had been clear and robust, he said.
“We’ve always said right at the start it’s not a straightforward business.
“I think you’ve seen in Australia ... they’ve had nine months where they’ve been wrestling with the issue following changes over there. The simple point is that we set out to try and align ourselves more closely with Australia and Australia have shifted yesterday. So we’re going to have to take stock of that and just see how it lands and then take it from there.”
Media Insider: “Are you indicating that you are prepared now to take a harder line?”
Goldsmith: “Well, yes, potentially. Let’s just see how it works in Australia.”
He said there were still some details in Australia to be worked out.
“Potentially it outlines quite a different approach but just in terms of our context and our timing, it certainly wouldn’t make sense to press on with anything here in the New Zealand context right here, right now.
“Let’s see how this rolls out over the next few months in Australia and then we’ll make fresh decisions after that.”
The Australian legislation allows for fines of potentially hundreds of millions of dollars if the likes of Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook don’t negotiate in good faith and help fund the journalism that contributes to their mega profits.
Facebook had been threatening to simply walk away from providing news on its platform – as it has done in Canada – so that it wouldn’t have to pay media companies for their work.
The Australian legislation would compel the tech giants back to the negotiating table.
“The government wants Australians to continue to have access to quality news content on digital platforms,” said Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones. “Digital platforms receive huge financial benefits from Australia, and they have a social and economic responsibility to contribute to Australians’ access to quality journalism.
“This approach strengthens the existing code by addressing loopholes that could see platforms circumvent their responsibility to pay.”
As The Australian reported: “Under Labor’s proposal, tech companies with Australian revenue of at least $250 million will be required to negotiate commercial deals with news media outlets whose content they use on their digital platforms. If they refuse to negotiate, they will face fines that far outweigh the likely cost of any commercial deals they might strike with news companies.”
Goldsmith said: “We don’t have to follow the Australians, but it’s sensible to look at what they’ve done and there seems to be bipartisan support over there at the moment. But again, it’s early days. It is sensible if we possibly can to have a similar structure.”
Asked about the delays with the existing Bill in front of Parliament, Goldsmith said the Government had been “very busy” and had been able to progress new laws such as freeing up Sunday morning and public holiday advertising for TV broadcasters.
But on the digital news bill, it was a fast-moving space, internationally. “We weren’t yet at a position to finalise it; we were working with all due diligence.”
The News Publishers Association (NPA) said it was “very disappointed, but not surprised” with the news that the bill was on hold.
“We were advised that the legislation would be passed this year, but clearly the agenda changed in the past two months,” said NPA public affairs dirtector Andrew Holden.
“It is even more disappointing that the minister is now talking about waiting for months to see what happens in Australia. There is no need for him to delay the bill, in fact quite the opposite.
“The experience in Australia and Canada demonstrates that the basic legislation needs to be in place to compel the big tech companies to sit down and negotiate with media companies.
“Only once those negotiations are complete - and the media companies have had the opportunity to establish what is the value of their journalism - can you look at further measures, like the tax that has just been announced if they try to avoid a bargaining code.
“New Zealand media companies are desperate to have the opportunity to sit down and negotiate a fair price for their content. They are the ones that create the journalism that large tech companies like Google and Meta use to make money; they urgently need a mechanism to have that negotiation.
“There really isn’t any time to waste. The latest media ownership report from AUT’s Journalism, Media and Democracy Research Centre clearly spells out what a terrible year 2024 has been for New Zealand journalism, with the loss of hundreds of jobs and the closure of multiple newsrooms.
“Without real, positive action from the Government, the NPA is afraid that 2025 will bring yet more bad news for New Zealand media.”
NZME chief executive Michael Boggs said: “Another delay to progress on the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill is disappointing as global tech companies continue to monetise content produced by our journalists without paying for it.”
“However, we expect the delay signals the Minister is committed to a strong response to these global tech platforms in securing deals for local media, to ensure the future sustainability of our industry.”
“In recent days the Australian government has confirmed its focus on these global tech platforms and reemphasised that they must be paying for the content they use. We simply request the same terms as currently being paid in Australia. We look forward to further engagement with Minister Goldsmith in the coming weeks.”
Google has also been approached for comment.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
NZ rugby TV rights are now open to negotiation for global streamers: What are fans in for?