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World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee has said Australia’s plan to force digital giants to pay media for news content is “unworkable” and undermines a “fundamental tenet” of the Internet.
Canberra enforces world-class laws that would force Google and Facebook to compensate Australian news agencies or pay millions of dollars in fines.
The aggressive move to verify the power of tech giants has sparked a backlash from US businesses, with Facebook warning Australians could be barred from sharing articles on its “news feed,” while Google has experienced hiding local news in searches.
Berners-Lee, a computer scientist who created the Web in 1989, said in a submission to an Australian Senate inquiry that he was “concerned that the code might violate a fundamental principle of the Web by requiring payment for the link between certain online content “.
“The ability to create links freely – that is, without any limitation regarding the content of the linked site and without monetary charges – is fundamental for the functioning of the Web, its development so far and its growth in the decades coming., “he wrote.
In the Jan. 18 submission, Berners-Lee said he supported the need for publishers to be “properly rewarded” for their work, but that “the constraints on the use of hyperlinks are not the right way. to achieve this goal ”.
“If this precedent were followed elsewhere, it could render the web unusable in the world,” he wrote.
“I therefore respectfully urge the committee to remove this mechanism from the code.”
The office of the US Trade Representative also urged Australia to abandon its “heavy” plan, saying there could be “lasting negative consequences” for consumers and businesses.
Canberra’s initiative has come under close scrutiny around the world, as news media around the world suffer from an increasingly digital economy where big tech companies massively capture ad revenue.
The proposed legislation has received broad support from Australian media, many of which have been hit hard by declining revenues during the coronavirus pandemic.
The digital giants have also made submissions to the inquiry, with Facebook urging a return to the voluntary code of conduct originally proposed by Canberra.
“Facebook remains willing to pay Australian news publishers for news content made available on Facebook, as long as it is subject to genuine commercial considerations,” he said.
Google said some revisions to the draft proposal improved the law, but called for several more rule changes.
Australia plans to introduce the new rules this year, with the Senate committee scheduled to hold public hearings from Friday.
hr / arb / jah
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