We've served official notice on Facebook and Google

Dear Reader,

This week, we lost our Australian news media monopoly. It was a terrible loss. We'd grown so accustomed to our dominant position, we'd started eating fried Faberge eggs for breakfast, and were even toying with the idea of a 24-hour news channel devoted exclusively to giving a platform to angry old white men who think pedophiles shouldn't get jailed. But then we remembered that Andrew Bolt already has a gig on Sky News.

Unfortunately for us, the Media Code was officially approved by parliament this week, which means that it just needs Rupert Murdoch's signature on it and it will become law in Australia.

Under the code, media organisations give "official notice" to Google and Facebook that they wish to negotiate commercial terms for the sharing of their content, and then the tech giants are required to respond within a certain period.

This being the case, we decided to file our official notice. Unfortunately, neither Facebook nor Google would answer our calls, and when they eventually did, they hung up on us pretty quickly. 

But that did not deter us. They were dealing with The Chaser after all, which until recently was Australia's only news media organisation. We figured perhaps they were scared negotiating against us. Or maybe they disliked the bullish terms that we were seeking. Our (non-negotiable) negotiation position was that they each needed to give us $30 million. 

Eventually we decided to file our notice publicly on Twitter:

We've talked to our lawyers, and they are claiming that we need to be "realistic" about our chances of getting this money. They point out that the last minute amendments to the bill that the government agreed to in the face of Facebook's tactics means that if they don't respond to us, Google and Facebook face no consequences.

That's right. The Media Code has no enforcement power anymore. It's just a piece of paper that Josh Frydenberg can hang in his office to remind him of the time he got to chat to Mark Zuckerberg on the phone.

Like the Mining Tax before it, Australia has stood up to global capital, and then immediately backed down again. As Scott Morrison would say, "How good is Australia!"

Anyway, if the $30 million does come through, we'll let you know. And we'll make sure everyone enjoys some  of the money. Fried Faberge eggs all round, on us!

Anyway, have a good day. And if you’re in Adelaide, please buy tickets to our show The Anti-Expert's Guide to the Pandemic. Our 6:30pm shows at The Virago have SOLD OUT tonight and tomorrow night, and the rest of the season is selling fast so get in quick.

To cope with the demand, we've added some matinee shows at The Cornucopia at 4:40pm on Fridays and Saturdays. It's probably the biggest venue at the fringe, so we're doing a 2 for 1 offer this weekend. Just enter the promo code MAYHEM to unlock the 2 for 1 offer (this weekend only). Book tickets here.

Charles Firth
Publisher
The Chaser

P.S. If you want a non-Facebook way of getting daily updates from The Chaser, please subscribe to The Chaser Daily, which is an automatically-generated email of all our news stories of the day, sent out at 4pm (Melbourne time). Think of it as a Zuckerberg-free way of staying up to date with Australia's only news service. Sign up now

ANDREW HANSEN: SOLO SHOW



Andrew Hansen. He’s the actual, real, proper star of The Chaser’s War On Everything, CNNNN and The Hamster Wheel. He’s the good one from The Chaser. Known for his ferocious songs and iconic characters like the Surprise Spruiker and Clive the Slightly-Too-Loud Commuter, Andrew now presents a blistering live set of sketches and musical takedowns. So don’t miss this brand-new slate of musical and theatrical treats from Andrew Hansen – including hand-picked classics from the Chaser TV songbook. BUY TICKETS NOW

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