Australia’s Bold Plan for Big Tech to Pay Media Companies May Level Playing Field

By New York Post. Australia just took a major step toward leveling the playing field between Big Tech firms like Facebook and Google and financially hard-hit media companies, setting what could be a critical precedent for other nations.

On Monday, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced plans to force the digital behemoths to pay news and other media outlets for their content, as part of a mandatory “code of conduct” to be presented in July. The move came after “insufficient progress” on a voluntary code.

“It is only fair that the search engines and social-media giants pay for the original news content” they use, Frydenberg said. He cited data showing between 8 and 14 percent of Google search results include reports from news sites. Yet the digital platforms wind up with a huge share of online advertising bucks: Google gets 47 cents of every dollar; Facebook, 24 cents. (Read more from “Australia’s Bold Plan for Big Tech to Pay Media Companies May Level Playing Field” HERE)

__________________________________________________

Facebook Invests $5.7 Billion for 9.99% Stake in India’s Jio Platforms

By CNN. Facebook is pumping billions of dollars into Jio Platforms, the digital technology arm of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s sprawling conglomerate Reliance Industries.

The deal, announced Wednesday, will see Facebook (FB) invest $5.7 billion for a 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms, giving the Silicon Valley company a key foothold in one of the world’s fastest growing internet markets.

Jio Platforms has several services under its umbrella, including Reliance Jio, the mobile network that has signed up nearly 390 million subscribers since launching three and a half years ago. Reliance also has a retail arm, and the tie-up includes a commercial partnership with Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp that potentially paves the way for Facebook to monetize WhatsApp’s 340 million users in India. (Read more from “Facebook Invests $5.7 Billion for 9.99% Stake in India’s Jio Platforms” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE