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Jokowi signs regulation requiring Google, Meta to pay for news
The rule brings Indonesia in line with Australia and Canada, which have enacted similar publishers’ rights policies.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo greets dancers during the opening ceremony of 2024 Indonesian International Motor Show (IIMS) at JIExpo Kemayoran in Jakarta on Feb. 15, 2024. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has signed a long-awaited regulation that will require tech giants, including Google and Meta, to pay local media outlets for news content presented on their platforms.
The rule brings Indonesia in line with Australia and Canada, which have enacted similar publishers’ rights policies.
The presidential regulation will come into force in August, six months after its announcement, and paves the way for media firms to negotiate partnerships with tech platforms that could take the form of paid licensing, revenue sharing and data sharing, among other arrangements.
Aside from payments to media firms, the regulation requires tech platforms to prioritize news content produced by verified media outlets, contribute to journalist training programs and curb the spread of fake news in the country.
“It was a tiring process, and it was so hard to find a middle ground. Even among major digital platforms, their aspirations are different,” the President said at the annual Press Day celebration on Tuesday.
The rule aims to address publishers’ longstanding complaints that they are losing revenue to online platforms, as tech giants benefit from using news content in search results and other features without compensation.
The government has also noted that Big Tech dominates the country’s advertising market, with a 60 percent market share, squeezing smaller players such as news outlets, especially those that do not rely on subscriptions.
