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Google Says It Will Stop Linking To New Zealand News If A Law Passes Forcing It To Pay For Content
Wellington, New Zealand – Google announced on Friday that it will stop linking to New Zealand news content and will withdraw its support for local media sites if the government passes legislation requiring internet companies to pay for stories published on their platforms.
The search giant’s promise to cut off Google traffic to New Zealand news sites, revealed in a blog post on Friday, mimics techniques it used as Australia and Canada prepared to implement similar laws in recent years.
It came after New Zealand’s government said in July that MPs would go forward with a measure requiring tech companies to reach agreements with media outlets generating news material in exchange for revenue sharing.
Google Says It Will Stop Linking To New Zealand News If A Law Passes Forcing It To Pay For Content
The previous administration introduced the law in 2023, and the government, led by the center-right National, opposed it.
However, the loss of more than 200 newsroom positions earlier this year — in a national media business that had 1,600 reporters at the 2018 census and is sure to have fallen since then — pushed the current administration to reconsider requiring digital companies to pay publishers for showing material.
The law seeks to limit the flow of advertising money from New Zealand news items overseas.
Google New Zealand Country Director Caroline Rainsford stated on Friday that if the legislation passes, the company’s engagement in the country’s media ecosystem will change.
“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,” according to her.
Google’s licensing scheme in New Zealand delivered “millions of dollars per year to almost 50 local publications,” she added.
The News Publishers’ Association, a New Zealand industry group, said in a written statement Friday that Google’s guarantee constituted “threats” and reflected “the kind of pressure that it has been applying” to the government and news outlets, according to Public Affairs Director Andrew Holden.
Government officials “should be able to make laws to strengthen democracy in this country without being subjected to this kind of corporate bullying,” said Mr. Trump.
Australia was the first government to try to force digital companies, including Google and Meta, to negotiate with news outlets under a law passed in 2021. Initially, the internet titans imposed news restrictions for Australians on their platforms, but both finally caved, negotiating arrangements reportedly worth 200 million Australian dollars ($137 million) per year, given to Australian sources for the use of their content.
However, Belinda Barnet, a media expert at Swinburne University in Melbourne, claims Meta has refused to renew its contracts with Australian news outlets while Google is renegotiating its initial deals.
As Canada prepares to enact comparable digital news bargaining regulations in 2023, Google and Meta reiterated their commitment to ending their assistance for the country’s media. Last November, however, Google pledged to provide 100 million Canadian dollars ($74 million) in annual financial support to news organizations across the country, indexed for inflation.
Colin Peacock, an analyst who leads the Mediawatch show on RNZ, New Zealand’s public radio broadcaster, stated that Google “doesn’t want headlines around the world that say another country has pushed back” by passing such a law.
Google Says It Will Stop Linking To New Zealand News If A Law Passes Forcing It To Pay For Content
While Google emphasized its support for local outlets on Friday, Peacock stated that one of its funding recipients, the publisher of a small daily, told a parliamentary committee earlier this year that the money he received was “a pittance” and insufficient to recruit a single graduate reporter.
Minister for Media and Communications, Paul Goldsmith, told The Associated Press in a written statement on Friday that he was still conferring on the next version of the law.
Goldsmith stated in July that he intended to approve the measure by the end of the year.
SOURCE | AP
