The Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill in New Zealand, aimed at compelling tech giants to pay for using content from local media firms, has seemingly vanished from the government’s agenda. Originally scheduled for its second reading on Nov. 13, the bill was pushed down to number 13 on the day’s agenda, effectively preventing any discussion. The Media and Communications Minister’s spokesperson mentioned that there is no definitive date for when the bill will be addressed, and the government will make announcements when ready. However, there is no confirmation on the government’s ongoing commitment to the bill.
Speculation from government sources suggests that the bill may have hit a snag and could be over. It remains unclear whether the bill will be formally withdrawn or if it will reappear in a significantly modified form. The legislation, introduced by the previous Labour government, has garnered support from New Zealand media companies and was backed by National and NZ First during earlier negotiations. However, the ACT Party has expressed opposition to the bill, utilizing the “agree to disagree” clause in the coalition agreement to signal disapproval.
Since the bill was drafted, the media landscape in New Zealand has deteriorated, with Newshub shutting down, TVNZ canceling news programs, NZME reducing its earnings forecast, and privately-held Stuff undergoing restructurings to cut costs. Tech companies have strongly opposed the bill, with Google threatening to stop indexing and displaying New Zealand news if the law is passed. Google’s New Zealand Country Director highlighted concerns about the bill’s ‘link tax’ and warned of potential changes to Google’s products and news investments if the law is implemented.
In response to the situation, the Media and Communications Minister stated that negotiations with Google were ongoing to address concerns. However, ACT leader David Seymour criticized the bill, stating that the news media in New Zealand should focus on improving their product rather than blaming the internet. He emphasized the importance of maintaining the separation between government and media for the sake of democracy. Please rewrite the following sentence:
“I went to the store to buy groceries.”
“I went to the store to purchase food items.”
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