India Must Back A Global Good: Make Big Tech Pay National Press

"We think that investment in journalism is critical to a healthy democracy," said the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. You may be excused for thinking that the PM was speaking at the convocation of a journalism college. However, the PM was speaking to protect one of the critical pillars of the democracy, the Free Press...& from the raiders..the Big Tech.The Aussie PM, on the back of these comments, announced what is now being touted as a pathbreaking initiative to save real journalism -- a news bargaining incentive. Under the new plan, any tech giant that fails to strike a deal with the local press would be charged a share of their total Australian revenue at 2.25 per cent. Tech giants are opposing the proposed plan tooth & nail.

However, the proud Aussies know the value of an intrepid press...Something that is forcing the politicians, like the Prime Minister, to take an unequivocal stand against the vice like grip of big tech and in favour of the national press.In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often said that a free and vibrant press is vital in a democracy, however, the shocking truth is that algo driven free trawling of the content created by the traditional media companies at huge costs is being raided for free by tech giants Meta, Google and now increasingly OpenAI.Google AI Is Rewriting News Headlines And Publishers Are Paying The Price

No rules of fair play apply to them, & the judicial system has often failed to redress the issue in real, meaningful time...leaving the National Indian Press increasingly locked in an unfair, unequal battle with tech giants...one in which the government, like in Australia & multiple other jurisdictions, will have to act proactively.

It is not as if a proud Indian press corps that has defended the country's vital interests forever is asking for a favour...the world, realising the value of real journalism, is moving to safeguard it.What Is Australia’s News Bargaining Incentive?- Tech platforms must sign deals with news publishers or pay a 2.25 per cent levy on Australian revenue.- If platforms make deals, they can claim 150–170 per cent tax offset on those payments.Post Australia Law, Pressure Builds On India To Make Big Tech Pay Publishers- Revenue collected through the scheme will be shared with news organisations.- Publishers with more full-time journalists get a bigger share.- Regional, rural, and multicultural outlets get extra weightage.- To fall under the rules, platforms must earn at least $250 million revenue and (for social media) have 5 million+ users in Australia.To qualify under the scheme, publishers must meet clear standards around quality journalism and editorial independence.Global Crackdown On Big TechAustralia: Pushing tech companies to pay news publishers through new rules and incentives.France: One of the first to enforce 'neighbouring rights; forcing platforms like Google and Meta to negotiate payments with publishers.Canada: Passed the Online News Act, asking platforms to compensate news outlets. This led to strong pushback from Google and Meta.Germany: Introduced copyright rules that allow publishers to demand payment for news snippets shown on platforms.United Kingdom: Looking at similar rules under its Digital Markets framework to regulate big tech.United States: Discussed the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, but it has not been passed yet.What Is India Doing?India has started talks on sharing revenue with policymakers, including Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Groups like the Digital News Publishers Association and the Indian Newspaper Society have also gone to the Competition Commission of India (CCI).The CCI is checking if Google is paying news publishers fairly. At the same time, pressure is increasing on Meta and Google to share revenue with media companies.

Tech experts say content creators including news publishers, should be paid fairly, no matter how big or small they are."I am in support of content creators, including news agencies, being paid for their share irrespective of how big or small they are. For instance, there is a common social media user who posts something and it goes viral. The platform earns ad revenues, etc., but that individual gets nothing for their creativity. So there has to be a way to pay the ‘original content creators’, more so in the AI era where chatbots just pick up anything to serve their users, including the paid ones," Faisal Kawoosa, founder of TechArc told Timesnownews.com.According to him, the debate is no longer just about news platforms it is about the entire content ecosystem.Prabhu Ram VP-Industry Research Group, CyberMedia Research (CMR) said: "India’s digital ecosystem is much larger and more diverse, with thousands of publishers across languages and formats. Any regulation here must balance fair payment with innovation and user access," he said.For a nation like India, the challenge is bigger. And hence, the need to rise up to the challenge is more urgent. It is not just journalists or journalism at stake... the battle is much bigger and it is national sovereignty that is at stake in this battle with Big Tech.