Political commitment vital in media-tech giants talks

Political commitment demonstrated by the government is crucial in the struggle of local media organisations to obtain fair compensation or payment from technology giants for online news content.

Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) chairperson Chamil Wariya, who welcomed the government's willingness to facilitate negotiations with technology giants, said media organisations must also unite on the issue.

“The government’s political will is crucial in this struggle, otherwise, the tech giants will view the local media’s efforts to get adequate compensation for the content they use as trivial,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.

He is also of the view that legislation, such as the News Media Bargaining Code in Australia and the Online News Act in Canada, should also be drafted to help the negotiation process.

Yesterday, the government, through the Communications and Digital Ministry, said it is ready to be a facilitator to assist in negotiations of local media organisations to get fair compensation or payment from giant technology companies.

Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said, if necessary, a legal framework could be introduced to smooth the negotiation process.

Meanwhile, Sinar Harian editor-in-chief Zamri Rambli said the negotiations on fair and equitable payment to local media had been discussed through the Malaysian Newspaper Publishers’ Association (MNPA) fairly recently, but it was not strong enough without the support of the government and a law that requires technology giants to do so.

He said media organisations are also expected to face pressure from technology giants similar to the Australian media.

“They faced various pressures such as the limited broadcast of news produced on the social media of these tech giants. That is why Malaysian media organisations must unite and be strong until they succeed like the Australian media,” he said.

Media Mulia Sdn Bhd managing director/group editor Mohamad Azlan Jaafar said content creators and the media industry continue to be plagued with revenue drop despite owning the creative property of the content.

“The media industry is staring at a dark future if nothing is done,” he said.

- Bernama