KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 — The government will have to conduct a comprehensive study if it wants to introduce a law on payment for online news access by major technology companies in Malaysia following the recent developments in Canada on July 3.
The proposed Online News Act aims to ensure giant technology companies such as Google and Meta (the parent company of Facebook) pay media agencies for links, material search and news content used on the company’s platform.
On July 1, Alphabet Inc, Google’s parent company announced it would remove links to news from Canadian publishers from its Google search engine after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government passed a law requiring digital platforms to pay local media for news content.
However, experts believe it is time for the government to consider the proposal to implement the said law to ensure that the media industry can remain sustainable while curbing the spread of fake news.
An observer of current issues, Noor Mohamed Shakil Hameed, said if Malaysia implements the law and finds itself in the same situation as Canada, the people will still be able to get authentic information through alternative media platforms.
“In the age of IR 4.0 (industrial revolution), AI (artificial intelligence), and ChatGPT, the availability of information is at our fingertips with IT literacy and information so I do not think we’ll have much trouble getting authentic information quickly and accurately if this kind of restriction happens.
“The government should take a serious look at this matter and evaluate whether it is good or not. Maybe it is time for the government to consider such a law to crack down on fake news and defamation,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.
National Journalist Laureate Tan Sri Johan Jaafar said the implementation of the law could raise the revenue of the local media industry with payment on the ‘link tax’ by giant technology companies.
He said the media industry ecosystem is now being affected by the monopoly of giant technology companies such as Google and Meta, which make a profit from the use of material and news content published by local media agencies.
“Because of this, many media companies have shut down. We must not forget that in the last 10 years, we have lost no less than 10,000 media workers in Malaysia, partly due to the Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS).
“We have no choice but to prioritise the existence of the Online News Act in Malaysia. The survival of media companies is at stake here. Therefore, I urge the government, especially the Ministry of Communications and Digital (KKD), to prioritise this matter,” Johan said.
In 2021, the Australian government successfully introduced legislation called the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code, which requires giant technology companies Google and Meta to pay media agencies for links and news searches on their respective platforms.
The same legal approach was taken by Canada in early July. However, the outcome was different when Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc, instead took steps to block all links and news searches on the platform.
Senior lecturer at the Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin believes the Australian success scenario must also occur in our country, to ensure the sustainability of the media industry.
“It is time for the interests of the media industry to be safeguarded. Countries like Australia, Canada and even the United States have introduced various forms of legislation to ensure that these giant technology companies pay the media industry.
“In the context of Asean countries, Malaysia may be able to establish media diplomacy among member states to set a clear benchmark for the content, control and continuity of the media industry in the country,” he said.
Noor Nirwandy, who is also an expert in security and political analysis, said the domestic media could also be exposed to various foreign agendas brought in by the two giant technology companies if due attention is not given to this issue.
On May 28, KKD is said to have put forward the views of journalists to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the need to enact a bill requiring giant technology companies like Google and Meta to pay local media companies for news content.
Its minister Fahmi Fadzil said efforts to implement this view are still at an early stage, as developments in the implementation of the law in several countries have to be taken into account.
— Bernama
