Publisher hits out at Google’s ‘shallow commitment’ to Australia’s media sector

Queer publisher QNews has taken aim at Google for “undermining the sustainability of Australia’s diverse media sector” after the digital giant stopped some deals made under the News Media Bargaining Code (NMBC).

The escalation in rhetoric comes after it was revealed Google was reviewing its financial commitments to a collective of 24 publishers in a deal it had struck back in 2022.

Google had committed to paying the publishers for the use of their content in a deal brokered via the Minderoo Foundation in 2022. Making such financial arrangements meant the big tech company avoided being ‘designated’ under the NMBC, which would have forced it to commit to commercial deals with local publishers.

Despite Google’s insistence that it “has continually demonstrated strong support for public interest journalism, and is the only technology company with an extensive number of significant commercial agreements with Australian publishers”, one publisher has challenged its commitment.