New Zealand’s conservative coalition government has announced its intention to proceed with a bill that would mandate digital technology platforms to pay media companies for news content. This decision comes amidst a challenging landscape for New Zealand media outlets, who face intense competition from tech companies for advertising revenue, prompting them to explore alternative methods of news delivery. The Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, initially proposed by the previous Labour government in 2022, will be presented in Parliament with modifications aimed at empowering “our local media companies to earn revenue for the news they produce,” according to Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith.
The proposed amendments aim to align the New Zealand legislation more closely with Australia’s digital bargaining law, which took effect in March 2021. This Australian law grants the government the authority to compel internet giants, including Meta Platforms (Facebook) and Alphabet Inc. (Google), to negotiate content supply agreements with media outlets. If negotiations fail to yield an agreement regarding payments, the government can intervene to mandate such arrangements.
Following Canada’s introduction of a similar law in 2023, Meta responded by blocking news content from appearing on Facebook within the country. Meta has also indicated its intention to cease payments to Australian media companies for news content, prompting the Australian government to consider potential interventions.
Goldsmith emphasized that the proposed amendments to the New Zealand bill would empower the communications minister to determine which digital platforms fall under the legislation’s scope. An independent regulator will be appointed to oversee the implementation of the bill, serving as its authority.
However, Goldsmith acknowledged that one of the governing coalition’s partners, the right-wing ACT New Zealand party, will not support the bill. This necessitates securing the support of other political entities for the legislation to pass. The opposition Labour party has stated its intention to review the amendments but remains supportive of the bill’s overall objective.
