Australian Government loses patience with Google
Despite a nominal date for parties to agree the licensing recommended in the ACCC (competetion authority) report last year the Australian government has ordered a deal be implemented sooner. Whether this was a response to time wasting, or the widespread damage the COVID crisis is inflicting on the media is not clear, but both probably play a part. Together with the France Google case, it creates real momentum and hope that a platform publisher licensing solution will be forced through more widely.
Adam Suckling, CEO CopyRight Australia said “The evidence from Europe is that big tech plays a ruthless game in seeking to circumvent regulatory action aimed at ensuring they pay for their use of news content,” says Copyright Agency CEO Adam Suckling. “Effective reporting, public interest journalism and important investments and jobs are all at stake here, so we must get the code right.”
