The Communications and Digital Ministry intends to initiate engagement sessions with tech giants to develop a revenue-sharing formula with local media companies.
Deputy Minister Teo Nie Ching spoke about the initiative during the Parliament’s Minister Question Time on Wednesday (Nov 15).
Advertising revenue for most local media companies has dwindled significantly as most have been taken over by tech Giants such as Google and Meta, notes Ching.
“The ministry intends to start engaging with tech giants so that we can emulate other countries – with a formula – whereby advertising revenue can be channelled back to Malaysian media companies,” Ching said.
She was responding to a question by Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi (PN-Tumpat) who asked how the government will help local publication companies who are currently facing financial difficulties.
The ministry intends to emulate Australia and its News Media Bargaining Code which puts into law for Google and Facebook to share their advertising revenue with local media firms when linking their content on news feeds or in search results.
Following the landmark decision, the Indonesian government is also proposing a similar law for tech giants to pay local media outlets and publishers when their content is linked on Google or Facebook.
Local publishers and the Malaysians Newspaper Publishers Association (MNPA) had urged international tech companies Google and Meta to share their advertising revenue with publishers back in 2020.
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