J57 Internet Publishing and Broadcasting

Labor concerned Meta may sidestep obligations to pay for news as media bargaining code fight reignites

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Original article by Josh Butler, Amanda Meade
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 23-Oct-24

Seven West Media and Nine Entertainment have rejected a parliamentary committee’s recommendation to impose a ‘digital platform levy’ on big technology companies such as Google and Meta. The two media groups contend that rather than introducing a so-called ‘tech tax’, the federal government should use the existing provisions of the news media bargaining code to ‘designate’ such companies. Meta contends that the committee’s report ignores the realities of how its social media platforms work and the value they provide to news publishers.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Streaming ad revenue set to eclipse TV

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Original article by Kylar Loussikian
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 30-Jul-24

A report from PwC notes that revenue across Australia’s media industry has risen to $62.3bn in the last year, although growth in revenue slowed from 6.6 per cent to just 2.8 per cent. Meanwhile, PwC estimates that digital revenue now accounts for 70 per cent of advertising spending in the media sector, compared with 54 per cent in 2019; the firm has also forecast that this will increase to 79 per cent by 2028. PwC in turn expects advertising revenues from traditional TV broadcasts to fall to around $3.5bn by 2028, while revenue from subscription and ‘catch-up’ services is forecast to rise to a similar level within four years.

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PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD

‘Wilful blindness’: Big fines for tech giants that ignore abuse material

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Original article by Angus Thompson
The Age – Page: Online : 24-Jul-24

Technology companies are currently required to report to the federal government on steps they are taking to minimise harmful content on their platforms. However, eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant says her office will further crack down on companies such as Google and Meta to ensure compliance. Amongst other things, they will be required to report their progress on combating child exploitation and sex abuse material on their platforms, with such reports to be submitted every six months for the next two years. The first reports must be submitted by 15 February, and they can incur a fine of up to $782,500 for each day they fail to comply.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE ESAFETY COMMISSIONER, META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Publishers fear Google AI search will kill their sites

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 & 23 : 18-Jun-24

Google is using AI to create summaries of content from publisher web sites to answer search queries, rather than the actual web site link. It has claimed that summaries encourage, rather than discourage, readers to click on publishers’ websites, but publishers and media experts have dismissed its claim, while research by US-based Future Media has also cast doubt on Google’s claim. Private Media CEO Will Hayward comments that tech firms are known for making bold statements that do not pass the "sniff test", and that "Australian journalism can’t wait five years to see if what they’ve claimed turns out to be true".

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PRIVATE MEDIA PARTNERS

Google fails to sign on to scams fight

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 17 : 14-Jun-24

Meta has signed up to an intelligence-sharing agreement aimed at combatting financial scams and fraud via the sharing of information between social media platforms and market participants. However, Google is yet to sign up to the agreement, nor have X or TikTok, and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has called them to do so. He says that if social media platforms want to operate in Australia that they must be part of the "team" when it comes to combatting scams, although Google claims it was not approached to join the intelligence-sharing agreement.

CORPORATES
META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, X CORPORATION, TIKTOK, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Facebook shifts $1.1b offshore as local profits rise 36pc

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 26-Apr-24

Facebook Australia’s latest accounts reveal that it paid its overseas affiliates $1.14 billion for ‘purchases of services’ in the 12 months to 31 December, up from $1.03 billion in 2022. The rise in Facebook’s ‘purchases of services’ came as its post-tax profit rose 36 per cent to $47.1 million, while the number of people working for Facebook in Australia declined by 16 per cent. Despite an broader decline in advertising, Facebook reported reported $1.34 billion from Australian advertisers in the subject year, up 6.8 per cent from $1.26 billion the year before.

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FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Scams galore on Meta

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Original article by Jared Lynch
Herald Sun – Page: 2 : 26-Mar-24

Data from US-based mobile security firm Zimperium shows that scams are more prevalent on Facebook and other Meta-owned social media platforms than rivals such as X and Reddit. Zimperium has detected 99,690 scams on Meta’s platforms – which also include WhatsApp and Instagram – since October; this included 53,275 on Facebook alone. In contrast, Zimperium detected 11,612 scams on Telegram, a total of 3,344 on X and just 148 on Reddit.

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ZIMPERIUM, META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM LLC, WHATSAPP INCORPORATED, X INCORPORATED, TELEGRAM, REDDIT

Get tough with Meta: ex-insider

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Original article by Gus McCubbing
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 19-Mar-24

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen says the federal government should engage directly with Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding its decision to abandon revenue-sharing deals with local news publishers. Haugen says Zuckerberg controls the social media giant, and his opinion is the only one that matters. She adds that Meta could and should pay for news content, and she argues that Australia needs to play hardball with Meta, given that the nation led the way globally with its news media bargaining code. Haugen will address the Australian Cybersecurity Conference in Canberra next week.

CORPORATES
META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK

Frydenberg urges Labor to negotiate with Zuckerberg over media deal

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Original article by Jessica Yun
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 13-Mar-24

Goldman Sachs Australia chairman and former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg has weighed into the debate over Meta Platform’s decision to not renew content deals with news publishers. He says public interest journalism faces a "billion-dollar black hole" as a result of Meta’s decision. Frydenberg adds that the federal government needs to talk with the leaders of companies such as Meta. Frydenberg notes that he held direct negotiations with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google Sundar Pichai when the initial deals via the news media bargaining code were secured in 2021.

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GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Facebook ‘damaging communities’: News Corp CEO

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Original article by James Madden
The Australian – Page: 2 : 6-Mar-24

News Corporation’s CEO Robert Thomson has criticised Meta Platforms for opting against renewing its revenue-sharing deals with Australian news publishers. Thomson has told a media and telecom conference in San Francisco that Meta’s decision shows a blatant disregard for the Australian community, especially as Meta is a company that talks about ‘community’. Thomson has also questioned Meta’s claim that news comprises less than three per cent of the content people see on their Facebook feed; he contends that while there is core news, 100 per cent of the contemporary factual information on Facebook is news, and this is what Meta should be focusing on.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK