Should Platforms Pay for News?

The debate over whether search engines and social media should pay news publishers, and what happened when Australia and Canada passed laws requiring it.

News publishers argue that large platforms like Google and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, benefit from news content while capturing most online advertising revenue. Several governments have tried to make platforms pay publishers for news.

The publishers’ argument

Platforms show news links, headlines and snippets, attracting users.
Platforms earn advertising revenue, while publishers struggle.
Individual publishers have little bargaining power against dominant platforms.

The platforms’ argument

Platforms send large amounts of traffic to publishers’ websites for free, which publishers can monetise.
News is a small part of their business.
Paying for links would undermine how the internet works.

Australia’s code

In 2021, Australia passed the News Media Bargaining Code, which required large platforms to negotiate payments with news publishers, with arbitration if they could not agree. Meta briefly blocked news on Facebook in Australia in protest, then restored it after amendments. Google and Meta then signed deals with many publishers, paying an estimated total of around 200 million Australian dollars a year.

Canada’s law

Canada passed the Online News Act in 2023. Meta responded by blocking news on Facebook and Instagram in Canada, and studies found Canadian news outlets lost a significant share of their social media engagement. Google agreed to pay around 100 million Canadian dollars a year into a fund for Canadian news.

India

Indian publishers’ associations have raised similar concerns, and India’s competition regulator examined complaints by news publishers against Google’s practices. The debate continues.

Who needs whom?

A local news website gets much of its traffic from search and social media. If platforms stop showing its links, it loses readers. But platforms also benefit from people searching for and sharing news. The outcome of negotiations depends on who needs the other more, which is why governments intervened to strengthen publishers' bargaining power.

Economic questions

Economists debate whether such laws fix a genuine market power problem or simply transfer money from platforms to large publishers, and whether the money reaches the small local outlets most in need.

Thinking platform payments will save journalism alone

Payments from platforms have helped some publishers, but the sums are small relative to the advertising revenue journalism has lost. They are one possible support among several, not a complete solution.

Key takeaways

Publishers argue platforms profit from news and hold too much bargaining power.
Australia's 2021 News Media Bargaining Code led platforms to pay publishers.
Canada's 2023 Online News Act led Meta to block news in Canada.
Economists debate whether such laws fix market power or mainly transfer money.