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9 September 2023

After Canada and Australia, Malaysia now wants Google, Meta to pay news outlets for content


Soon after Canada asked internet companies like Meta and Google to strike a deal with news local publishers, Malaysia is also mulling to introduce similar regulations to compensate outlets for content sourced from them.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said that the country’s government is in discussions with officials from Google, Meta and other major online platforms over the regulatory framework.

Regulations akin to Australian rules

The MCMC said that the proposed regulations will be similar to rules in Australia. The country, in 2021, made it compulsory for Google and Meta to compensate local media outlets for content that generates clicks and advertising dollars.

Malaysia is also mulling rules similar to Canada's Bill C-11 to regulate streaming platforms and require them to support Canadian content.

Google had previously said that the Canadian government has not given the company “reason to believe that the regulatory process will be able to resolve structural issues with the legislation.”

Furthermore, the MCMC said it was also in discussions with the social media platforms to address online harm such as child sex abuse material, online gambling and financial scams.

Ban on news in Canada

Recently, Meta announced that it is blocking the news access for Canadians on both Facebook and Instagram.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month slammed Meta for prioritising corporate profits as it blocked news about wildfires. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously said that the Online News Act “is based on the incorrect premise that Meta benefits unfairly from news content shared on our platforms when the reverse is true.”

Google has also said that it would block news content, including news articles, videos and audio for users in Canada. Links posted by Canadian outlets are visible in other countries.

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