SYDNEY (Reuters) – The US government has asked Australia to scrap proposed laws making it the first country in the world to force Facebook Inc and Google from Alphabet Inc. to pay for news obtained from local media.
In a submission in which the government was asked to “suspend” the plans, US Trade Representatives Daniel Bahar and Karl Ehlers suggested that Australia rather study the markets further and, if appropriate, develop a voluntary code.
Under the law, which has broad political support and is currently before a Senate committee, Google and Facebook will be subject to mandatory arbitration if a commercial agreement on payments to Australian media cannot be reached.
“The U.S. government is concerned that an attempt by legislation to regulate the competitive positions of specific players … to the apparent detriment of two U.S. companies, could have damaging outcomes,” the document said in a statement. the President.
Such a move could also ‘raise concerns about Australia’s international trade obligations’, he said.
The Australian government announced the legislation last month after an investigation found that the technical giants possessed too much market power in the media industry, a situation which he said posed a potential threat to a well-functioning democracy.
Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, asked for a response to the US submission, said in a statement that the government “is committed to continuing with a mandatory code” that addresses the “imbalance in the bargaining power with digital platforms” and media companies “will address.
The code follows an 18-month review by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairperson and ‘extensive consultation’ which includes the views of both Google and Facebook.
The ACCC investigation found that A $ 53 to Google, A $ 28 to Facebook and A $ 19 to other media companies, for every A $ 100 in online advertising spending.
Following intense but unsuccessful lobbying by the Australian government of both technology giants to scrap the proposed laws, which they say are unfair, Google and Facebook have suggested they could be forced to limit their offer in the country.
($ 1 = 1.3014 Australian dollars)
Reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney; Edited by Richard Pullin