It’s up to the platforms to adapt to the regulators and not the other way around. There are laws, and platforms must adapt. Monday February 22, the European commissioner in charge of the regulation of digital services, Thierry Breton, rushed to the aid of Australia and severely criticized the blocking of news content by Facebook. A measure introduced in this country in retaliation for a bill that would force it to pay the media. “I find it really very damaging that a platform takes such measures to protest against the law of a country. We must support Australia in this fight, ”he said during a videoconference exchange with elected members of the European Parliament.
As of Thursday, Australian Facebook users will no longer be able to view news links from local or international media. The blocking, decided by the American giant, is a response to a bill intended to force platforms to pay the media for the resumption of their content. “Quality information processing must obviously be remunerated at its fair value, in particular by the large platforms,” explained Thierry Breton, recalling that in Europe the issue of copyright on information had already been decided. .
The Copyright Directive “provides press publishers with a new right in order to have a fairer and more equitable share of income. It is obviously now a question of implementing it, ”he continued. This 2019 directive established a “neighboring right” which provides for remuneration of publishers for content used by online platforms. This text should serve as a basis for press publishers to negotiate remuneration with platforms in return for the reuse of their content on the Web.
Ensuring that digital giants do not abuse their dominant position
In a joint statement published Monday and co-signed by Microsoft, the European press editors judge, however, that, without “additional regulatory measures” to this text of the European Union, they could “not have the economic strength to negotiate fair agreements and balanced ”with the platforms.
EMMA (European Association of Magazine Media), ENPA (European Association of Newspaper Publishers) and even EPC (Council of European Publishers) are calling, with the support of the American software giant, “for the implementation of ‘an arbitration mechanism in European legislation’, like what Australia is proposing, to ensure that platforms pay a fair price ‘for the content of press publications’. The Canberra bill provides for an independent arbitrator to decide whether the deals made between the press and the platforms are fair in order to ensure that these giants do not use their dominant position in the online advertising market to dictate their conditions.
European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton presented in December with the Vice-President of the Commission, Margrethe Vestager, a vast draft legislation aimed at limiting the abuses and abuses of power of large digital platforms such as Facebook and Google.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
