The Deputy Communications and Digital Minister, Teo Nie Ching, has stated that her ministry will be exploring the option of a revenue-sharing formula with local media companies as a potential solution to the challenges they are currently facing.
She expressed the intention to engage tech giants to discuss the possibility of channeling advertising revenue back to Malaysian media companies, as many have seen a decline in advertising revenue due to the dominance of tech giants like Google.
Teo Nie Ching made these remarks in response to a supplementary question by Datuk Mumtaz Md Nawi (PN-Tumpat) about the government’s efforts to assist publication companies experiencing financial difficulties. Mumtaz had expressed concerns about the financial issues faced by some publication companies.
In 2020, the Malaysian Newspaper Publishers Association (MNPA) initiated a move to urge international tech companies, Google and Facebook, to share advertising revenue with the publishers. This came in the wake of a successful move by the Australian government, requiring tech giants to compensate media outlets for news content on their platforms through ad-revenue sharing.
Following suit, Indonesian media players also urged platforms to pay local media outlets and publishers for linking their content on news feeds or in search results in 2021.
In addition to the revenue-sharing discussion, the Deputy Communications and Digital Minister also mentioned that a grievance mechanism will be included in the proposed Media Council Bill to empower media agencies to self-regulate. This mechanism will allow the public to lodge complaints if they are dissatisfied with any news content.
Teo Nie Ching expressed hope that through the establishment of the Media Council, more responsible media practitioners can be produced. She also mentioned that the ministry is hopeful of tabling the Bill by next March, after obtaining approval from the Cabinet and Attorney-General’s Chambers. The ministry has been engaging with stakeholders composed of media practitioners to address any remaining issues.
