EU news agencies worry over copyright law

Europe’s biggest news agencies accused Google and Facebook of “plundering” news for free on Tuesday in a joint statement that called on the internet giants to share more of their revenues with the media.

In a joint statement and column urging passage of the law, many of Europe’s press agencies and media CEOs played on anti-Google and Facebook fears to call on members of EU Parliament to pass the law. They characterized the “plundering” of media content as a “threat both to consumers and to democracy.” They also argued that with billions in ad revenues, these mostly US-based technology companies could afford to compensate publishers.

European publishers have been trying for several years to revise copyright law to enable the collection of licensing fees for exposure of links and small snippets of content by news aggregators and search sites. They contend that, rather than drive traffic to and benefit their sites, Google and Facebook use their content to generate ad revenue without compensation.

A first draft of the law was rejected in July and the plans have been firmly opposed by US tech firms, as well as advocates of internet freedom who fear that the regulations could lead to higher costs for consumers.

“Can the titans of the internet compensate the media without asking people to pay for access to the internet, as they claim they would be forced to? The answer is clearly ‘yes’,” the column said. The joint statement from the agencies, which are major suppliers of news, photos and video, said Facebook reported revenues of $40 billion (34 billion euros) in 2017 and profits of $16 billion, while Google made $12.7 billion on sales of $110 billion.

“Who could reasonably argue that they are not in a position to make fair payment for the content they use?” the agencies asked. “What we are really talking about is introducing a fair payment by those who have ripped off the news. For the sake of Europe’s free press and democratic values, EU lawmakers should press ahead with copyright reform,” they added.

The column marks a new lobbying effort by media groups, backed by artists such as Paul McCartney, to sway European lawmakers as they prepare for a second vote on 12 September. The fight is over two parts of the planned law.

The first is Article 13, which would make platforms like Google-owned YouTube legally liable for copyrighted material to prevent content producers from seeing their work posted without pay.

The second is Article 11, which would create a so-called “neighbouring right” meaning that newspapers, magazines and news agencies would have to be paid when Google or other websites link to their stories.

“Without paying for it, internet giants such as Google and Facebook use vast quantities of news that is produced at great cost by press publishers and news agencies,” added the joint statement on Tuesday.

Critics argue that the reform would lead to blanket censorship by tech platforms because of copyright problems, reducing their role as a hub for creativity, especially YouTube. They say it would also restrict the usage of memes and remixes by everyday internet users who often use content without securing the rights.

The column was signed by the heads of TT in Sweden, STT in Finland, Belgium’s Belga and APA from Austria, as well as other media groups across the European continent.