Summarised by Centrist
In an opinion piece in The Post, Andrew Holden, representing the News Publishers’ Association, endorses the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill in New Zealand. The bill is currently on the way to an upcoming select committee hearing. If passed, this legislation would mandate negotiations between major tech companies like Google, Meta, and Microsoft, and New Zealand media firms for fair compensation for using their news content.
Holden argues this bill could substantially support local journalism by ensuring tech giants pay for the news content they benefit from.
According to Holden, the bill addresses the current imbalance where roughly 10% of digital advertising revenue goes to local news companies, impacting the sustainability of quality journalism in New Zealand.
“In Australia, it is now estimated that Google and Meta are paying more than A$200 million a year to its media companies, equivalent to about 20% of the cost of the journalists’ salaries,” writes Holden.
