To force tech companies to split income with news publishers for using the latter’s original content, the government is considering regulating action through amendments to IT legislation.
The Indian government wants to force large tech companies like Google, Meta, Apple, Twitter, and Amazon pay Indian newspapers and digital news publishers for utilising their original content, following similar actions in Australia and the European Union.
According to Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the government intends to secure this by regulatory interventions, which will be made feasible by amendments to the country’s current IT legislation.
According to Chandrasekhar, the market dominance of tech giants disadvantages Indian media enterprises, hence the matter is being carefully considered in light of new norms and legislation.According to the report, this is the government’s first remark on the subject.
Due to a surge in the usage of smartphones and the internet globally, global digital and social media platforms have reaped significant rewards, with rising profits and viewership.Publishers of news and media organisations contend that the original material they produce and pay for has contributed to some of this increase.
According to the government, the emergence of a small number of tech brands has led to the consolidation of market dominance, which has weakened original content producers’ negotiating leverage.”The press publishers have absolutely no negotiating power, and this needs to be addressed through legislation.We take this seriously”, Chandrasekhar told us.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has been contacted about the issue by the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) and the Indian Newspaper Society (INS). The publishers’ associations have accused Google of abusing its dominant position by placing onerous conditions on media companies.
Found this article interesting? Follow BG on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to read more exclusive content we post.
