NEW DELHI: BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday demanded in Rajya Sabha that the Centre should enact a law to make Facebook, Google, YouTube pay for news content.
"The government should take a cue from the Australian parliament and must make Google, Facebook and YouTube pay print and news channels for the news content they are using freely," Sushil Kumar Modi said in Rajya Sabha.
"I would urge the government of India that the way they have notified Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code to regulate social media and OTT platforms, they should enact a law on the pattern of Australian Code so that we can compel Google to share its revenue with traditional media," he added.
The former deputy chief minister of Bihar stated the traditional print and news broadcast media, whose content is freely available on platforms run by the tech giants, "are passing through their worst phase as advertisements have shifted to tech platforms."
"They are in deep financial crisis. Earlier, it was because of the pandemic and now it is because of tech giants like YouTube, Facebook and Google. The traditional news media, make heavy investments employing anchors, journalists and reporters who gather information, verify it and deliver credible news," he said.
Last month, Australia passed a law making Google and Facebook pay for news content on their platforms.
“The purpose of the code is to address the market power that clearly Google and Facebook have. Google and Facebook need media, but they don’t need any particular media company, and that meant media companies couldn’t do commercial deals,” the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair had said.
(With agency inputs)