Indian Newspaper Society asks Google to pay Indian publishers for use of news content

Indian Newspaper Society has asked Google, the global information search engine, to compensate Indian newspaper publishers comprehensively for the using content published by the newspapers, and share its advertising revenues properly.

In a letter to Google India Country Manager Sanjay Gupta, Indian Newspaper Society (INS) President L Adimoolam demanded that Google should pay for news generated by the newspapers which employ thousands of journalists on the ground, at considerable expense, for gathering and verifying information. Since the content which is generated and published by newspapers at a considerable expense is proprietary, the Society noted that it is this credible content that has given Google authenticity in India ever since its inception.

Pointing out that publishers have been providing complete access to "quality journalism with credible news, current affairs, analysis, information and entertainment", INS said there is a huge distinction between the editorial content from quality publications and fake news that is spreading on other information platforms.

The Society said that, over the past year, publishers across the world have been raising the issue of fair payment for content and of proper sharing of advertising revenue with Google. INS noted that Google has recently agreed to better compensate and pay publishers in France, the European Union and notably in Australia.

Read: Explainer | Why Australia wants Facebook, Google to pay for news

Publishers are also facing a very opaque advertising system, as they are unable to get details of Google's advertising value chain. The INS insisted that Google should increase the publisher share of advertising revenue to 85 per cent, and also ensure more transparency in the revenue reports provided to publishers by Google.

Noting that the INS has been engaged in discussions with Google on these vital issues, the letter reiterated that "Indian print media is the most credible source of news and information in the country, and newspapers play a vital role in nation-building. However, the pandemic and the current digital business model have been unfair to publishers, making it unviable for the print media industry. We invest heavily on journalism, the core of our news operations, because newspapers play a vital role in society."