New laws will require tech companies to pay news brands for content they feature on their platforms
The legislation will encourage platforms to negotiate payment deals with news organisations for the content featured on their sites, according to a report by the Mail on Sunday. If these negotiations fail, an independent arbitrator will set a fair price.
The arrangement, driven by culture secretary Nadine Dorries, will be regulated by the Digital Markets Unit, the digital watchdog set up within the Competition and Markets Authority.
Responding to the Mail on Sunday’s report, Owen Meredith, the chief executive of the News Media Association, also highlighted the organisation’s consistent support for the measures, saying: “For too long the tech platforms have been able to abuse their dominant position to leech advertising revenues away from the publishers who invest in news content while contributing next to nothing back into the sector.
“It is vital that the new regime brings this unfair and unsustainable imbalance of power to an end once and for all, ensuring consumers have access to trusted sources of news and information online.”
Last month, Newsworks CEO Jo Allan called on advertisers to invest in quality trusted environments like news brands, rather than funding fake news and misinformation that spread on social platforms. Read a version of Allan’s speech here.
