Duncan Greive: Spinoff Founder on the potential impact of the changes to the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill

A media commentator says a Bill to make tech platforms pay for news has a decent shot at bringing change.  

The Government's progressing an amended version of the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill to make digital platforms like Facebook pay for using news content. 

National and NZ First are supporting it, while ACT's invoking its right to 'agree to disagree' and will oppose the Bill.  

The Spinoff founder Duncan Greive told Mike Hosking Australia was the poster boy for such a scheme, but Meta has signalled that it won't renew.  

He says there's a change from the consumer side, but from a revenue perspective there's money flowing that wasn't before. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The government's decided to move forward with us FED Digital
News Marketing Bill. Basically, you get the big tech players
to the table category or with local media around usage
of content to be count the arbitrator steps in. Our
media commentator spin off founder Duncan greeves with us Duncan,
very good morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Money might as soon.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
As I can tell, there are two issues one whether
or there is an issue, and I think we all
agree there is two. Whether this fix is at what's
your view?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
I think that there is a decent shot that this
will bring material change that the big question mark is,
you know, with this, with Goldsmith now having the power
to designate, whether the big tech platforms will go along
with it or as Meta has done another markets like Canada,
will was this that everything it has?

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Do you think part of the problem is Goldsmith looks
like he's been dragged here reluctantly.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Well, I think that this is where the change from
Melissa Lee, who was very publicly empty the bill does
have a favor. Goldsmith has been on a bit of
a listening tour with media and you know, certainly at
the press conference yesterday made it pretty good best of
suggesting that this is something he's thought deeply about and
come to all his ownvolition. Whether that's true or not,
is it a separate matter.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
Okay, So Canada and Australia, are they shining examples of
how brilliant this can be or are they a bit
half baked?

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Well, Australia was the poster boy and had you know,
I think it was about two hundred million Australian dollars
a year that had gone into journalism that wouldn't have
had the wives gone. Google has no what are is
continuing with it? The meta has signal so that it
woke when you it's ones and that now there is
a real battle in Australia about whether news will continue

(01:38):
to be distributed through platforms like Facebook and Meta. So
there is a bit of a change from the consumer side,
but from a revenue perspective, the the you know, there
is there's money flying that wasn't previously flying and there
are still moves that government could make. I think that
that mean that that story isn't finished being told.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Okay, do you take their threat seriously? Will turn off
the news or not?

Speaker 2 (02:04):
Well, they've done it in Canada, so I think you
have to take them seriously, it's about how material that
is for your country. You know. I think that we're
Facebook to turn off news and I think the government
could quite rightly say, well, your platform is now at
information free zone, will turn off advertising. That hasn't been
done in other countries. But government's the biggest client of

(02:27):
these companies and hasn't to this point used that. Sickly
asked old Smith yesterday whether he would, and he didn't.
But I think that there are still moves to be made.
This is still very early.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
I think good Good Insight don't appreciate it as almost
Dunk and Greaves spinoff founder and the media commentator.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
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Speaker 1 (02:47):
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