INTERNET INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

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.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

News Corp spurns Google news deal

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Original article by Natasha Gillezeau, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 27-Jun-20

Google has struck deals with a number of Australian news publishers to pay for content, while it is talks with a number of others, including Australian Community Media. Google Australia MD Mel Silva says it will have to "wait and see" whether its new product offering will be impacted by the code of conduct that the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is putting together to govern how technology companies deal with news publishers. News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller has accused Google of not being genuine, and of trying to take advantage of certain publishers when they are at their most vulnerable.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Google finally agrees to pay for news content – but not with everyone

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Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 15 : 26-Jun-20

Digital giant Google has reached agreement with several media companies in Australia regarding a deal to licence their news content. The deal covers smaller news publishers such as Solstice Media, Schwartz Media and The Conversation. Google is also said to be in talks with larger news publishers such as News Corp Australia, Nine Entertainment Company and Australian Community Media. News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller says the deal shows that Google is willing to negotiate directly with small publishers. Google will also pay for news content from several media companies in Germany and Brazil.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED

News key for tech titans: so pay up

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Original article by Leo Shanahan, David Swan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 20-May-20

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has released a ‘concepts paper’ on the proposed mandatory revenue-sharing code of conduct for digital companies. ACCC chairman Rod Sims says the revenue from placing advertisements adjacent to news stories is clearly a direct benefit for Google and Facebook. However, he adds that the indirect value of having news on their platform is a much bigger benefit for them. Sims says a number of payment models could be considered, noting that implementing a per-click model could be difficult.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Google’s gross revenue dwarfs tax bill again

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Original article by Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 15-May-20

Google Australia had gross revenue of $4.8 billion in 2019, of which around $4.3 billion came from advertisers, according to accounts lodged with the corporate regulator on 14 May. However, the top line in its accounts shows revenue of just $1.2 billion; Google Australia says it sees itself as just as an agent that sells advertising product created by its US parent, only booking the commission it earns on each sale as revenue. Accordingly, its gross profit only amounted to $823 million, while its tax bill came in at just $100 million.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Google hit for defamatory search results

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Original article by Tessa Akerman
The Australian – Page: 3 : 1-May-20

The Supreme Court of Victoria has directed Google to pay lawyer George Defteros $40,000 over search results linked to his name that he alleged were defamatory. Justice Melinda Richards stated that a 2016 link to an article in ‘The Age’ did carry defamatory imputations, but she noted that Defteros had taken some years to get in touch with the newspaper and ask for the article to be removed. Richards also noted that Defteros had referred to criminal Graham Kinninburgh as "a friend", and she suggested that this "reduced the sting of the defamatory imputation" that Defteros felt.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

Google MD caught off-guard by moving media goalposts

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 22 : 28-Apr-20

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will implement a mandatory revenue-sharing code of conduct for digital companies by July, after the federal government scrapped plans for a voluntary code. Google’s Australian MD Melanie Silva has rejected claims that it was "dragging its feet" in negotiations for a voluntary code, and that it will co-operate fully with the ACCC in developing the mandatory code. It has been suggested that news publishers could receive hundreds of millions of dollars in extra revenue under the code.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

US keeps eye on Australia’s big tech rules

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 23-Apr-20

The US media industry has welcomed the Australian government’s move to require technology companies to pay news publishers for their content. Digital Content Next CEO Jason Kint says the mandatory code of conduct shows that the government recognises the significance of the problem and its impact on traditional media companies. News Media Alliance CEO David Chavern adds that there is growing concern across the political spectrum regarding the impact of digital platforms. The US Congress is also monitoring efforts in Australia and elsewhere to reign in the digital giants.

CORPORATES
DIGITAL CONTENT NEXT, NEWS MEDIA ALLIANCE, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

ABC in the frame for tech giant payments

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 22-Apr-20

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says that all media companies should be included in the revenue-sharing deal with Google and Facebook. This could potentially include the taxpayer-funded ABC, and Sims notes that the media sector will be in a weaker bargaining position if the public broadcaster is not involved. Meanwhile, the Victorian government will support regional journalism by spending $4.7m on advertising with non-metropolitan news outlets over the next six months.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

No dirty tactics, ACCC tells tech giants

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 21-Apr-20

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has warned that technology companies will face significant financial penalties if they fail to comply with the mandatory code of conduct. He adds that 8-14 per cent of Google’s search results include news stories, so the company is unlikely to block such content in response to the federal government’s decision to make digital platforms pay news publishers for their content. The ACCC has been given responsibility for developing the payment model.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY