ID news outlets to conclude deals with digital platforms in August

Media outlets in Indonesia reportedly expect to close deals with digital platforms such as Google by August in a bid to increase their revenue and enable them to produce quality journalism.

This news follows president Joko Widodo’s announcement of the new publisher’s rights regulation where digital platforms are required to pay media outlets that provide them with content to redistribute advertising revenue.

Don't miss: Meta believes it is not required to pay for ID news content following new law

Indonesia will also be the first country in Asia to adopt such a law with countries such as Australia and Canada already exercising the regulation.

Google has said that it has begun to collaborate with news publishers to build a more sustainable news ecosystem in Indonesia that showcases diverse perspectives to mitigate prejudice or bias, in a reply to queries by The Straits Times.

The Google spokesperson also added that it is working on creating a balanced news ecosystem that allows small and large news publishers to grow while providing quality news for the public.

The tech giant currently has collaborated with Jakarta-based news portal Katadata through its search engine Showcase which is under Google News.

Through the arrangement, Katadata gets paid a fee when it submits a number of news articles to Google each day to be uploaded on Showcase.

While Google has only paid 25% of the fee to Katadata, it plans to pay the full amount when the regulation comes into effect, added the report.

Usman Kansong, Indonesia’s director-general for information and public communication also reportedly said that the payment procedures will be drawn up by a committee which as been specially tasked to oversee the implementation of the regulation.

Additionally, the committee is expected to oversee that digital platforms and their supporting algorithms promote quality journalism that aligns with its existing laws, democracy and pluralism, as reported by The Straits Times.

While Google appears to adapt to the new regulation, Rafael Frankel, Meta's director of public policy for Southeast Asia, reportedly said that despite the new regulation, the firm is not obliged to pay for news content. The decision comes after Meta reportedly underwent several consultations with policymakers.

According to CNN Indonesia, Meta claimed that its users do not go to Facebook or Instagram to look for news content. It also added that publishers are choosing to use their platform because they benefit from free distribution of their content. Meta also claimed that its platforms has increased traffic to respective sites as well.

Related articles:
Google cuts hundreds of staff in ad sales team
Indonesia to ban goods transactions on social media with new regulations
Nearly 2,230 different companies are sharing your data to Facebook