Canada Follows Jokowi's Rules, Google Finally Wants to Pay
Photo: REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
- After months of arguing, Google is finally willing to comply with the 'Online News Act' regulations that apply in Canada. This means that Google will unblock news content in Canada.
The search engine giant agreed to pay US$ 100 million or around Rp. 1.5 billion per year to media companies in Canada, quoted from CBC, Thursday (30/11/2023).
Inside sources told Radio-Canada and CBC News that Google and the Canadian government reached common ground and agreed to a deal on news payments earlier this week.
"Many doubt our efforts will be successful. However, I believe we will find a middle ground with Google," a government representative told reporters outside the House of Commons.
Previously, the Canadian government asked Google to pay US$ 172 million, based on the portion of revenue the Mountain View giant earned from news content.
However, Google estimates the nominal compensation for news organizations is 'only' US$ 100 million.
Google's President of Global Affairs, Kent Walker, thanked the Canadian Minister of Culture, Pascale St-Onge, who mediated discussions between Google and the local government.
"We are grateful that the Canadian government is committed to accommodating our input on Bill C-18," he said in his official statement.
Google requested that the negotiation mechanism with media organizations be made simpler. As a result, Google can hold discussions with one of the media groups representing all of them. Google does not need to negotiate one by one for different compensation patterns.
Bill C-18 regulations will be added to the C-18 legislative framework and come into effect in December 2023.
Previously, Google had tried blocking news content in Canada, after negotiations with the local government stalled. However, after repeated discussions with several industry figures, finally all parties found a middle ground.
The Bill C-18 regulations are similar to the initiative of Indonesian President Jokowi through Publisher Rights. This regulation is currently being drafted at the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo).
The essence is the same, namely demanding that platform providers who distribute news content from media companies provide compensation to media producers. This compensation takes a certain portion of Google-Meta et al's income from the news content they distribute on their platform.
Kanada Ikut Aturan Jokowi, Google Akhirnya Mau Bayar
Foto: REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
- Setelah bersitegang selama berbulan-bulan, Google akhirnya mau mematuhi aturan 'Online News Act' yang berlaku di Kanada. Artinya, Google akan membuka blokir untuk konten berita di Kanada.
Raksasa mesin pencari sepakat membayar US$ 100 juta atau sekitar Rp 1,5 miliar per tahun ke perusahaan media di Kanada, dikutip dari CBC, Kamis (30/11/2023).
Sumber dalam memberi tahu Radio-Canada dan CBC News bahwa Google dan pemerintah Kanada telah menemui titik temu dan menyetujui kesepakatan soal pembayaran berita pada awal pekan ini.
"Banyak pihak yang ragu upaya kami akan berhasil. Namun, saya percaya kami akan menemukan jalan tengah dengan Google," kata perwakilan pemerintah kepada wartawan di luar House of Commons.
Sebelumnya, pemerintah Kanada meminta Google membayar US$ 172 juta, berdasarkan porsi pendapatan yang diraup raksasa Mountain View tersebut dari konten berita.
Namun, Google mengestimasikan nominal kompensasi untuk organisasi berita 'hanya' US$ 100 juta.
President of Global Affair Google, Kent Walker, berterima kasih kepada Menteri Kebudayaan Kanada, Pascale St-Onge, yang memediasi diskusi antara Google dengan pemerintah setempat.
"Kami berterima kasih karena pemerintah Kanada berkomitmen untuk mewadahi masukan kami atas Bill C-18," kata dia dalam pernyataan resminya.
Google meminta agar mekanisme negosiasi dengan organisasi media dibuat lebih simpel. Alhasil, diskusi bisa digelar Google dengan salah satu grup media yang mewakili semuanya.
Google tak perlu melakukan negosiasi satu per satu untuk pola kompensasi yang berbeda-beda.
Aturan Bill C-18 akan ditambahkan ke framework legislatif C-18 dan mulai berlaku pada Desember 2023 mendatang.
Sebelumnya, Google telah menguji coba memblokir konten berita di Kanada, usai negosiasi dengan pemerintah setempat mandeg. Namun, setelah dilakukan diskusi ulang bersama beberapa tokoh industri, akhirnya semua pihak menemui jalan tengah.
Aturan Bill C-18 mirip dengan inisiatif Presiden RI Jokowi melalui Publisher Rights. Aturan ini tengah digodok di Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika (Kominfo).
Esensinya sama, yakni menutut para penyedia platform yang mendistribusikan konten berita dari perusahaan media untuk memberikan kompensasi ke produsen media. Kompensasi itu mengambil porsi tertentu dari pendapatan Google-Meta dkk atas konten berita yang mereka sebarkan di platformnya.
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