Extract from ABC News
Facebook's Australian users were undoubtedly upset this week, but for a tech giant trying to prevent a costly Australian initiative becoming an exponentially more expensive international norm, considerations of profit are likely to outweigh popularity.
The company is probably willing to wear a backlash Down Under if it means stopping other countries following Australia's lead and forcing it to pay media companies for journalistic content.
Nonetheless, for any country that may be seriously considering following the path being forged by Australia, the popularity of Facebook versus that of the Morrison government will be of some interest.
Popular causes are far more attractive than losing battles for most politicians, so they will be keen to see who emerges from this fight with the most public support.
Facebook kicked an own goal
Right now, most of the stink is being worn by Facebook for this almighty disruption and the Morrison government is doing all it can to keep it that way.
The company didn't help itself by overreaching initially and blocking all sorts of essential services. This was an invitation for ministers, backed by the media, to pile on. No one can defend blocking access to domestic violence support services, and vital health and weather information.
If it were only genuine media sites blocked by Facebook, the government would be relying on its more nuanced argument about the value of journalism and why the company should be paying for such content on its platform.
It's easy to convince journalists of the value of journalism and the need to stem the bleeding experienced in the sector over the past decade; it's another convincing Facebook users who have grown accustomed to free access to all sorts of information.
The government will need to convince voters that not only should it be trusted, but the media companies too. They're the ones who will ultimately benefit from this new code.
Trust in media is up — somewhat
Here it's worth noting the always fascinating findings of the annual Edelman Trust Barometer released on Friday. Amid the pandemic, trust in Australia's government (state and federal), media and corporate institutions hit an all-time high in 2020.
Trust in government was the most significant move, jumping 17 points to 61 per cent in Australia. This was the biggest increase in government trust among the 28 countries surveyed.
The Australian media didn't fare quite as well, and still trails government, business and NGOs, but saw a 12-point rise in trust levels to 51 per cent.
Before media companies get too excited though, a breakdown of that figure shows mixed success. The Edelman survey found a 3-point drop in trust for traditional media to 53 per cent, and a 9-point rise for social media to 32 per cent.
In other words, traditional media maintains a solid, but eroding lead. That's despite all the focus on misinformation being spread on social media over the past year about COVID-19, about Donald Trump and by Donald Trump.
A particularly concerning finding in the survey relates to so-called "information hygiene", which it describes as a willingness to "engage with multiple sources, avoid information echo chambers, verify information they're consuming and vet before content sharing".
Fewer than one in four Australians apparently practise good information hygiene. The findings suggest most Australians are sharing content that could well be dubious, yet trust levels in social media are rising. At the same time, traditional media is losing revenue, losing journalists and losing trust.
This is the trend the government is trying to reverse with its media bargaining code. The high-minded principle of the legislation is to protect fact-based journalism, a pillar of democracy. Keeping big media companies happy along the way doesn't hurt either, particularly with an election on the way.
Facebook in a stronger position to negotiate
Google's decision to drop its earlier threat to exit Australia and instead strike deals with media companies was a vindication of the government's move. The deals with Nine Entertainment, Seven West Media and News Corp are said to be significant; at least $30 million each per year.
The new code doesn't require the details of each deal to be revealed, nor are the media companies required to guarantee the money is spent on journalism. Still, revenue of this scale will unquestionably help the sector.
Facebook, however, clearly believes it's in a far more powerful market position than Google. There's no "Bing" waiting in the wings to readily take its place. If Facebook sticks to its guns on the Australian news ban and refuses to pay a cent, media outlets will lose online traffic.
They can try to convince readers and viewers to find their individual home pages, but it's unclear how many will be bothered to do so. Particularly when trust in traditional media is in decline.
David Speers is the host of Insiders, which airs on ABC TV at 9am on Sunday or on iView.
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