Paying for news

I’ve long had an interest in the different attempts to regulate the digital space – firstly because it’s important, but also because, even as someone who’s worked in digital for over 10 years, I have no real idea how you would do it.

Benedict Evans’ excellent write-up of the situation that led up to Facebook’s decision to remove news content from its platform in Australia last week at least demonstrates how not to do it.

The government’s approach has been to tackle one monopoly by moving a small percentage of its earnings to a different monopoly. The net result is a situation that damages the smallest and most vulnerable parties.