Tue 05 September 2023:
Malaysia announced on Tuesday that it is considering about regulating how internet digital platforms, such as Meta and Google, are paid for in the Southeast Asian country, Anadolu Agency reported.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) stated that it is thinking about adopting legislative frameworks resembling those in place in Canada and Australia.
Australia’s Mandatory News Media Bargaining Code, which led Google and Meta to make voluntary compensation agreements with news outlets, served as an example of the importance of fair compensation, the commission said in a statement.
The statement came after a meeting between MCMC officials and representatives from Facebook’s parent company Meta and Google.
“Similarly, Canada’s Bill C-11 aims to regulate streaming platforms and requires them to support Canadian content,” it added.
The Malaysian officials will also meet representatives from another social media giant TikTok.
Meta and Google have been told to establish a licensing and regulatory framework, the commission said.
It pointed out that child abuse, online gambling, content inciting race, royalty and religious discontent, scams and fishing, sale and promotion of illegal drugs, and spread of disinformation and fake news were some of the challenges posed by the online platforms.
In June, the Canadian Parliament passed the Online News Act, requiring social media companies to share revenue with media outlets that share their content on the platforms.
Digital platforms responded forcefully to the legislation, with Google calling it a “link tax” and threatening to stop featuring Canadian news websites in its search and other platforms when the law comes into force.
In 2021, Facebook blocked news content in Australia in response to a similar draft law. The ban lasted just days, however, as the government amended the proposal to give social media platforms more time to strike commercial deals with media outlets before intervening.
The legislation eventually passed. In December 2022, the Australian government hailed it as a “success”, saying that media outlets signed more than 30 deals to compensate them for news featured on Google and Facebook.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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