Fresh Nine submission warns of information void if Meta bans news
The warning comes just weeks after the company announced that it would cut 200 jobs in response to Meta's decision to scrap media deals, and as the government nears a decision on 'designating' the social media behemoth
Legacy media operator Nine Entertainment has issued a fresh call for the government to take the strongest possible action against Meta for failing to renew licensing deals with local news outlets. But the television and publishing company has also warned that if Meta responds to 'designation' under the media by banning news from its platforms it will result in a surge in misinformation and disinformation across social media.
The warning was contained in a draft copy of Nine’s submission to the government’s joint select committee on social media, obtained by Capital Brief, and arrives on the heels of a cluster of public hearings in Canberra partly focused on Meta’s decision to retreat from news.
The submission, signed by the company’s executive counsel Penelope Hobart and dated 10 July, came two weeks after the company joined Seven West Media and News Corp Australia to announce significant job cuts in response to a tough advertising market and Meta’s decision to scrap media deals.
“The abandonment of the [News Media Bargaining Code] NMBC by Platforms such as Meta has had, and will continue to have a detrimental impact on newsrooms around the country,” Hobart wrote in the submission.
