Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Yi-chin (林宜瑾) yesterday proposed a bill that would require profit sharing by large online news aggregators to go toward a digital development and democratic resilience fund.
Lin, who is searching for allies in the legislature to cosponsor her version of a “digital news development and democratic resilience” bill, told reporters that the draft was created in collaboration with journalists, academics and other lawmakers, and that it drew from a public hearing on the matter that the Legislative Yuan held in February.
The bill would mandate the creation of an independent foundation to oversee profit-sharing between online aggregators and news firms, she said, adding that funds would be distributed to ensure the survival of journalism and encourage quality reporting.
Photo: Taipei Times
Digital platforms, including social media platforms and search engines, profit from advertising revenue generated by news reports that they themselves did not produce, the bill’s statement of purpose says.
That means news agencies have been shouldering the financial burden of producing original reporting while digital platforms reap the benefits, it says.
The loss of revenue to digital platforms has jeopardized the viability of traditional media, which faces an increasingly difficult business environment in light of the immense costs associated with creating quality reporting and being socially responsible, it says.
A mechanism for news agencies to get a fair share of profits must be created to maintain Taiwan’s democratic institutions, as public discourse and accountability would not be possible without journalism, it adds.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs would set up the independent fund, which would distribute 5 percent of local advertising revenue from online platforms to news firms, the bill says.
It would also distribute subsidies, donations and funds provided by the central government to foster journalism, it says.
News agencies would be empowered to negotiate carriage fees with major digital platforms for sharing original reports, the bill says.
The legislation would apply to tech companies that have more than 1 billion total active users per month across their platforms globally or more than 10 million users in Taiwan per month, among other specifications, it says.
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