Bundesrat proposes: Google should pay for journalistic content

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If you are reading this text, you may have come across it on Google. Or saw the message about it on Facebook. The offer of search engines, social media and multimedia platforms is based on the journalistic services of traditional journalistic media. So Google or Facebook make money from it. The problem: the text and image samples used are not yet copyrighted. Media companies like Blick and individual journalists are not paid for Google or Facebook to use their products. The Federal Council wants to change that.

Media companies should in future be compensated for the use of journalistic services by major online services. Such a fee is justified because the online services themselves benefit from the journalistic media. Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (59) has drawn up a template.

No consequences for users

In concrete terms, this means that if a major search engine shows excerpts from Blick articles in its search results, the online service will have to pay a fee for this in the future. The Federal Council leaves open the question of whether the sharing of fragments by social media users also leads to a payment obligation on the part of the providers. Placing hyperlinks remains free.

Under the draft law, only portals with an average number of users representing at least 10 percent of the Swiss population per year would have to pay a fee – currently about 900,000 users.

The new regulations should have no consequences for internet users. It is still unclear what additional income journalists and media houses will receive – it probably also depends on their negotiating skills.

The Baume-Schneider proposal is now being discussed. This lasts until mid-September. Then it’s Parliament’s turn (bro/SDA)

Source:Blick