Fair P(l)ay in the Digital Arena – In Search of a Balanced Relationship Between Press Publishers and Digital News Aggregators

Abstract

Press publishers have been in dire straits following the emergence of digital news aggregators. While press publishers heavily rely on digital platforms for wider reach and audience engagement, digital platforms can easily operate without exclusive content from any specific newspaper. Digital news aggregators not only outcompete them in terms of advertising revenue but also exploit them by using their news content without fair remuneration. If an increasing number of press publishers continues to leave the market due to financial difficulties, then this will have negative repercussions for media plurality. To avoid this, several jurisdictions around the world have adopted various policy and enforcement measures. Apart from trying to increase the competitiveness of press publishers, the main approach aims at ensuring press publishers are fairly remunerated by digital platforms. The adopted measures in that respect are manifold, stemming from copyright policy, competition policy and regulation. This paper seeks to establish which measure is most adequate in safeguarding fair remuneration of press publishers.