Australian government says "TikTok should be included" in the News Media Bargaining Code
Assistant treasurer Stephen Jones: “TikTok is carrying media but it is not included. I think TikTok should be included."
TikTok may be included in the revised News Media Bargaining Code, alongside the likes of Google and Meta, after the government suggested the platform should be included.
Assistant treasurer Stephen Jones said the Albanese government is in favour of including the platform in the code, which forces tech giants to fund Australia’s news media.
“TikTok is carrying media but it is not included. I think TikTok should be included. That’s the obvious one for the moment," Jones told The Australian.
The News Media Bargaining Code forces technology giants, such as Meta and Google, to pay for using content created by news organisations. The code aims to address the imbalance between foreign tech giants and smaller media companies.
Jones told the publication that while Google and Meta have struck more than 30 commercial agreements since the code’s introduction in February 2021, there are still many other social media platforms that are not paying for the news media they are using.
Jones added that while tech companies and social media platforms are expected to enter new commercial agreement negotiations "in good faith," the government has "powers under the code, we’re not afraid to use them."
TikTok declined to comment.
This comes after Nine Entertainment’s CEO Mike Sneesby called for video to be considered in renegotiating news media bargaining code deals after Facebook and Instagram made moves to prioritise video content.
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Speaking at Nine’s AGM last year, Sneesby told shareholders that “There has been a significant increase in the use of our video content – news-related, sport-related and entertainment-related video content – across both Facebook and Instagram’s Reels businesses.
“Notwithstanding the fact they may be considering their position in the traditional image and text-based news, video content has ramped up considerably. I don’t have a specific figure, but it’s material. And that certainly is an important thing for us to come to the table on to work out how we reach agreement on compensation for that video content.”
