Google and Facebook should pay to use ABC and SBS content, ACCC told

Google and Facebook should pay to use ABC and SBS content as well as news produced by commercial media, public interest journalism advocates have told the competition watchdog.

The funds collected from the digital platforms should be used to to set up an independent public interest journalism fund rather than be funnelled back into the public broadcasters, the Public Interest Journalism Initiative said in a final submission.

The media industry has been hit hard by Covid-19: 29 newspapers and TV stations have closed down and a further 97 newspapers have ceased to produce print editions, PIJI said.

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The consultation period for the draft mandatory code under which Google will be forced to pay Australian media companies for news appearing on Google closed on Friday.

Google has taken the fight against the legislation down to the wire, bombarding Australian users with a yellow hazard warning that states: “The way Aussies search every day on Google is at risk from new government regulation”, and repeating the message on YouTube’s social media accounts.

Public interest journalism advocates want Google and Facebook to pay when it uses ABC and SBS content, but say the fee shouldn’t be funnelled back into the public broadcasters.

But the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has called the campaign misinformation and will draft the legislation now the final submissions are in.

In a joint submission the Public Interest Journalism Initiative and the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas called on the ACCC to amend the code to include the ABC and SBS, but use the revenue to fund public interest journalism.

The chair of PIJI, Allan Fels, a former chair of the ACCC, said there was a danger in excluding the ABC and SBS. “There is a real chance that digital platforms will adopt far more of their content than from news organisations whose content they have to fund,” Fels said.

The Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology has also thrown its weight behind the idea.

The draft mandatory news code does not require the digital platforms to share revenue with the public broadcasters because they are funded by the taxpayer.

In March, ACCC chair Rod Sims said any revenue that came to the ABC as a result of the new code “would be applied to the delivery of ABC charter objectives” but after he delivered the code the ABC and SBS were excluded and he said that was the government’s choice.

“Clearly, digital platforms derive direct and indirect value from the volume of news content generated by public broadcasters, particularly as the ABC and SBS are the most trusted news sources in Australia,” the PIJI submission says.

“If Google and Facebook pay for content from News Corp and Nine, but not from the public broadcasters, then in effect the Australian taxpayers are arguably subsidising the digital platforms.”

The Centre for Responsible Technology agreed there were dangers in allowing Facebook and Google to use taxpayer-funded journalism without a fee. The platforms “may be incentivised to prefer their content to content for which they have to pay”, the centre said in its submission.

The director of the centre, Peter Lewis, said it was a critical moment that will define our relationship with the global technology platforms.

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“It is difficult to imagine an issue more pertinent in this digital age than the decline of media revenues and the overwhelming power of Google and Facebook,” Lewis said.

“We know that Google and Facebook have become the dominant advertising platforms. We also know the impact this has had on media outlets – with more than 5,000 jobs disappeared in the past decade.”

Fels also called for more clarity about how the revenue will be calculated and for more attention to be paid to how the smaller players will not be disadvantaged compared with News Corp and Nine Entertainment.

“Our proposal is aimed at overcoming the concern that small innovators in public interest journalism could otherwise come out badly under the final offer arbitration process,” professor Fels said.

“Final offer arbitration has much to offer but it is extremely important that the bargaining power of all parties big and small is equally protected and this is one way of doing that.”

Google Images launches 'Licensable' badge, making it easier for users to identify creators and license images

In collaboration with Shutterstock, Google has announced the launch of licensable images on Google Images. This feature entered beta testing earlier this year and is now fully launched and integrated into Google Images, hopefully benefiting photographers. With the new 'Licensable' badge on Google Image search results, viewers can immediately identify which images can be licensed for varying uses and better understand the usage rights of individual images.

Shutterstock worked closely with Google to ensure the licensable images feature works effectively. Of the new features, Shutterstock's VP of Content Operations, Paul Brennan, says:

'Google Images' new features help both image creators and image consumers by bringing visibility to how creators' content can be licensed properly. We are pleased to have worked closely with Google on this feature, by advocating for protections that result in fair compensation for our global community of over 1 million contributors. In developing this feature, Google has clearly demonstrated its commitment to supporting the content creation ecosystem.'

When an image has specified license information on a website, the image can be displayed with the Licensable badge on image thumbnails in Google Images. This badge indicates to viewers that license information is available for the image and then provides a link directly to the license in the image viewer. From here, someone can learn how the image can be licensed and used.

For Google to be able to discover and index images on a website, the images must be accessible without an account or by logging in. You must also follow Google's Webmaster Guidelines and Google Images Best Practices. In addition to these existing steps, the new Licensable badge requires structured data or IPTC photo metadata to follow Google's new guidelines. You can learn more about these requirements here.

With the introduction of the Licensable badge, search results in Google Images can now be filtered to only display images that include licensing. Further, the dropdown Usage Rights filter has been streamlined, such that it now includes only options for 'All', 'Creative Commons licenses' and 'Commercial & other licenses'.

It has long been far too easy for people to search for images on Google and use them without a license or permissions. Today's changes to Google Images will hopefully reduce image misuse. At the very least, assuming a photographer has taken the steps to ensure their images are properly badged and filtered on Google Images, it will now be much easier for Google Images users to view creator information and licensing requirements.

Google launches Kids Space initiative on Lenovo tablets

Corrections & Clarifications: Updates the story to clarify that parents can opt-out of ads during the setup of the Lenovo tablet and that Google says the marketing content will include ads for family-friendly apps.

Google announced a new kids initiative with videos, books and apps on upcoming Lenovo tablets.

The Google Kids Space, aimed at children  under 9, will have "kid-friendly" apps, videos and books on two new tablets arriving  in September, the search giant revealed on Monday. And yes, there will be ads. While Google declined to state what companies will be advertising on the platform, the company did say there would be "E-rated app or banner ads." 

Google describes the Kids Space initiative as a place for parents to manage screen time and have access to "teacher-approved" apps and popular children’s books free of charge, along with curated videos from YouTube Kids, an app for children too young to watch grown-up YouTube.

Google requires a minimum age of 13 to get a Google account and to watch YouTube, where ironically, eight of the top 10 most-watched U.S. channels are aimed at toddlers and tweens, according to TubeFilter.

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The company has come under fire in the past for how it interacts with children, paying the Federal Trade Commission a $170 million fine for "illegally" collecting personal information from kids.

Back in 2015, a coalition of consumer and child advocacy groups asked the FTC to investigate Google's YouTube Kids app, calling it deceptive marketing aimed at children under five.

"It's just one, long, uninterrupted ad," Jeff Chester of Center for Digital Democracy told USA TODAY at the time. "It turns back the clock 30 years in terms of the role that advertising plays in kids programming."

In an interview, Google product director Mindy Brooks said unlike traditional Google, which makes its money by serving up personalized ads to users, "There is no interest-based advertising for children" on Kids Space.

Brooks wouldn't be specific on what type of ads they will see, besides saying "They should all be kid-friendly ads," that adhere to Google's guidelines.

Google is offering the ability for parents to opt-out of ads during the setup, or later by going to the Settings and making the selection.

In a statement, Google said it protects kids' privacy "by applying data minimization principles throughout the design process and not serving personalized advertising to children using Kids Space and giving parents control. For example, we collect information about a child’s activity in our services to do things like help improve app recommendations."

The content kids will see on the tablets will be curated, Brooks says, and selected with a team of experts. Examples include videos from PBS Kids, Nickelodeon, Sesame Street and Barbie and educational books and apps.

The two tablets from Lenovo will start at $129 and be available in the coming weeks. Google says it will expand the program to other Android tablet makers as well.