Google renews Australian ‘News Media Bargaining Code’ deals with publishers; can cancel after a year

The search giant Google has renewed its ‘News Media Bargaining Code’ deals with large and small publishers in Australia. However, some of these new deals include clauses that allow them to be cancelled after just one year.

In 2021, Australia had passed a new law that will require digital platforms like Facebook and Google to pay local media outlets and publishers to link their content to news feeds or search results. The objective was to ensure that news media businesses are fairly remunerated for the content they generate, helping to sustain public interest journalism in Australia.

The tech giant has earlier opposed the Code. Google had said that the requirement to pay publishers for links and snippets in its search engine would produce too much risk for the business to continue operating it in Australia.

According to a report by The Australian Financial Review, Google has now confirmed to The Australian Financial Review that it has signed deals with Times News Group, Solstice Media, Private Media and The Conversation, among others.

Lucinda Longcrof, Director of Government Affairs, Google said , “Over the past three years, we’ve furthered our significant contribution to the Australian news industry by signing commercial agreements with more than 80 Australian news businesses, representing more than 200 outlets across the country.”

Google’s deals are estimated to be worth around $130 million in total. Meanwhile, Meta, earlier this year, reportedly has pulled out of its publisher deals worth around $70 million.