These days the platforms that pump news round the internet make more money out of it than the media who make it. In Australia they've done deals to ensure the media get more. Now the government also wants big fines for platforms publishing falsehoods. How will that work? And what's the story here?

These days the platforms that pump news around the internet make more money out of it than the media who make it. In Australia, they've done deals to ensure the media get more. Now the government also wants big fines for platforms publishing falsehoods. How will that work? And what's the story here?

Earlier this month, Australia's government announced new laws to beef up Australia's media regulator - the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) - to penalise the likes of Google, Facebook and Twitter for spreading harmful misinformation and disinformation online.

Search engines, social media platforms, dating websites and online marketplaces could all be hit with fines of between nearly A$3 million (NZ$3.2m) and A$7m - or up to 5 percent of their global turnover if they fail to properly tackle disinformation.

And for the first time, the communications watchdog ACMA could demand access to digital providers' documents related to fake news.

"It will essentially mean that the regulator is able to look under the hood of what the platforms are doing," Australian Communications Minister Michelle Rowland told the media.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX2BkNF5bx0

The New Zealand government also wants to extend media content regulation to the online realm - but they're nowhere near as far down the track.

After three years pondering the problem, the Department of Internal Affairs only recently released a discussion paper. Public input on that is open until the end of this month.

By contrast, successive Australian governments have been willing to confront big tech companies in ways governments all over the world have been watching - including New Zealand.

Google is now pushing back against a proposed law in Canada - the Online News Act - which would force tech companies to pay news organisations for each story accessed through its services.

Google is threatening to cut Canadian news from online searches - and Facebook's owner Meta has followed suit.

"Currently, we are proceeding towards ending the availability of news permanently in Canada," a spokeswoman told CBC News last week.

Facebook tried the same tactic before in Australia, when it banned sharing of Australian news on the platform - but reversed the move within a week after a severe backlash. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details