Big Tech cannot have a free lunch

The world over, news businesses battle a common dilemma: With revenues from traditional subscription models dwindling, more organisations want to pivot to sustenance from digital streams, given the surge in online readership and the possibility of expanding to new geographical locations and demographic groups. Yet, the digital media space is dominated by tech giants such as Google and Facebook, often piggybacking on content created by newsrooms without compensating them, and, to make things worse, functioning without any accountability or responsibility that being a media company entails. The motivation behind the move, as explained by New Zealand’s minister for broadcasting Willie Jackson, was to stop news businesses from collapsing. New Zealand’s move acknowledges that verified news and information are a global good — an indispensable service, not just a commodity that can be placed on par with any content.