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The ACCC has issued a draft determination proposing that Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) be authorized to collectively negotiate with Facebook and Google over the payment for their member stations’ news content on the platforms.
The provisions of the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code has not come into effect as there is currently no designated digital platforms where news media businesses can bargain for the inclusion of news on their services.
To remedy this, news media businesses are permitted to use the ACCC’s authorisation process to allow them to collectively bargain with the digital platforms. If news media businesses are not given authorisation by the ACCC, these arrangements with digital platforms can cause a breach in competition laws.
The ACCC’s draft determination will authorise the CRA to collectively negotiate on behalf of all of its members other than stations operated by Nine Entertainment Co for a period of 10 years.
“This authorisation gives CRA the opportunity to seek payment from Facebook and Google for its members’ news content and for its members to engage in discussions with each other about those negotiations,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
The ACCC has also granted interim authorisation which will enable the CRA to commence collective negotiations while the ACCC continues with the authorisation process.
CRA is a radio industry association that provides commercial radio broadcasting and audio content to Australian communities on analogue and digital radio and via online platforms. The association currently represents 261 member stations that are expected to benefit from the deal.
This follows the ACCC’s decision to authorise Country Press Australia to bargain with Facebook and Google on behalf of its members on 5 August 2021. Before this, Country Press Australia was also initially granted interim authorisation by the ACCC on 29 April 2021.
“The passage of the news media bargaining code in early 2021 provided an incentive for the major digital platforms to pay media organisations for the news content displayed on their platforms,” ACCC Chair Sims said.
“The ACCC will continue to consider authorisation requests from groups of Australian news media businesses that produce public interest journalism to ensure more efficient and effective negotiations with the digital platforms.”
The ACCC invites submissions in response to the draft determination by 30 September 2021. The ACCC’s draft determination and information on how to make a submission are available on the ACCC’s public register at Commercial Radio Australia (CRA).
Source: ACCC Media Release
Eliza Sayon is an experienced writer who specialises in corporate and government communications. She is the content producer for Public Spectrum, an online knowledge-based platform for and about the Australian public sector.
