Addressing the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill
As a significant longtime supporter of New Zealand’s news industry, we are deeply concerned about the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill. This Bill proposes a "link tax" that would require Google to pay simply for linking to news articles. While Google supports efforts to foster a sustainable future for New Zealand news, this Bill is not the right approach. We have outlined these concerns transparently in public submissions and in ongoing consultation with the Government.
We’ve been transparent with the Government that if the Bill were to proceed on its current trajectory and became law, we would be forced to make significant changes to our products and news investments. Specifically, we’d be forced to stop linking to news content on Google Search, Google News, or Discover surfaces in New Zealand and discontinue our current commercial agreements and ecosystem support with New Zealand news publishers.
These are not outcomes we want for New Zealanders, news publishers, or our business. We believe there is a sensible path forward and have proposed reasonable alternatives to the Government that do not harm smaller, local or regional publishers and maintain the principles of the open web, in line with recent agreements we've reached elsewhere.
We’ve outlined our current contribution to the New Zealand news industry, our concerns with the proposed Bill, as well as suggested alternatives to achieve the same goal, in more detail below. Google’s long-standing contribution to the New Zealand news industry
We are proud of our long standing contribution to New Zealand’s news industry. Our services help connect New Zealanders with quality journalism every day, driving valuable traffic to publishers. Through our local partnerships and investments, we continue to contribute to a sustainable, diverse and innovative news ecosystem in New Zealand, including through Google News Showcase - a licensing program that covers over 95% of New Zealand digital news publishers and results in us paying millions of dollars per year to almost 50 local publications. [1] Our investments in New Zealand news are targeted to help journalists and news publishers evolve in response to the changing way people are looking for and consuming information. Today, people are getting news from sources like short-form video, newsletters, social media, and curated podcasts, and many are avoiding the news entirely. We want to continue making contributions to the news ecosystem to help news publishers navigate this inflection point. We’ve already helped New Zealand partners navigate these changes by supporting work to increase paid subscribers, create technology solutions that are fit for this future and personalise user experiences. The Bill as currently drafted would put these contributions at risk.
Google's Concerns with the Bill
We believe the proposed "link tax" model is fundamentally flawed and would generate unintended consequences and unsustainable models. Here's why:
- Ineffective and Against the Open Web: Link taxes are in conflict with the principles of the open web, and have not proven effective in supporting journalism, as seen in similar situations where other platforms have disengaged after deciding it’s no longer feasible to carry news links, including in Australia and Canada. The Ministry for Culture and Heritage commissioned an independent report from Sapere that concluded “There is no plurality justification to require digital platforms to pay news firms for linking to news content.” [2]
- Harmful to Smaller Publishers: Solutions that overwhelmingly benefit a small number of large operators at the expense of small and local language publishers are neither sustainable nor desirable outcomes for New Zealand. [3]
- Business Uncertainty: The uncapped financial exposure, an opaque political process for exemption and lack of clarity in the current Bill create an untenable level of business uncertainty for any company. This makes it impossible to plan and invest effectively in New Zealand.
A Path Forward
We’ve been engaging with New Zealand publishers and lawmakers throughout the legislative process and have proposed reasonable and balanced alternatives to the draft Bill. Google is currently the only tech company providing financial support to New Zealand's news industry - as we have been for over two years. Further strengthening New Zealand’s news industry will require additional public and private support from both the New Zealand Government and a broad base of private companies. Looking ahead, we encourage the Government to reconsider the current Bill and engage in constructive dialogue to find alternative solutions that will ensure a sustainable future for New Zealand journalism. We are confident that, together, we can develop a better path forward.
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[1] This includes: NZ Herald, 1News, Stuff, Stuff Auckland, RNZ, The Post, Otago Daily Times, Otago Daily Times - Dunedin, The Spinoff, Newsroom, Waikato Times, The Star - Dunedin, The Star - Christchurch, Southland Times, Southland Express, Ashburton Guardian, Crux, Mahurangi Matters, Hibiscus Matters, Nelson App Online, Marlborough App Online, Northern Advocate, Northland Age, Kāhu, Waikato News, Bay of Plenty Times, Hawkes Bay Today, Rotorua Daily Post, Whanganui Chronicle, Stratford Press, Manawatu Guardian, Kapiti News, Horowhenua Chronicle, Te Awamutu Courier, Gisborne Herald, SunLive, Pacific Media Network, Scoop.co.nz, Taranaki Daily News, Manawatū Standard, Nelson Mail, Marlborough Express, The Press, Timaru Herald, Wairarapa Times-Age, Times Online, Wanaka App, Te Ao Māori News
[2] Sapere : The implications of competition and market trends for media plurality in New Zealand, page 77
[3] For example, independent analysis by The Media Ecosystem Observatory estimated a loss of Facebook traffic to Canadian news outlets of between 64 and 85% following similar legislation being introduced in Canada - similar impacts in New Zealand would be devastating for struggling smaller publishers.
