Google: Relax law on mergers between UK papers
Posted by Soraya Kishtwari on May 19, 2009 at 11:50 AM
In a letter sent to the Office of Fair Trading today, Google is
expected to show its support for newspaper mergers, arguing that
current laws do not reflect the true scope of competition that
relatively recent newcomers such as search engines and internet
companies, in general, represent to publishers, the Times has reported.Despite changes to competition laws as recent as the Competition Act of 1998 and the Enterprise Act of 2002, the internet giant believes the existing framework on mergers is potentially stifling to newspapers and insists that if publishers are to be able to seriously compete with other information and content providers, they should be given the freedom to merge with the local and regional news titles of other publishers.
According to the Times, in his letter to the OFT, managing director of Google UK, Matt Brittin writes: "Google supports the position of many newspapers for the need to allow for a 21st century merger regime, allowing local and regional news services to merge and consolidate in order to create...competitive news offerings".
The OFT is presently reviewing competition laws as part of Lord Carter's Digital Britain government paper, which - as the Times notes - many industry pundits are hoping will result in changes that will help to stimulate the country's recession-ridden press.
Google has fallen foul of criticism by many within the news sector for siphoning off potential advertising revenue from news organisations, whose content it uses - many say - as "bait." The European Newspaper Publishers' Association is the latest in a line of news organisations to complain about the corporation. At present, news aggregators are able to use content otherwise protected by copyright laws in limited ways, which they use to sell their own ads against.
Chairman of the publishers' Local Media Alliance, Roger Parry, who has reportedly called for competition rules to be opened up, commended Google for taking the initiative to contact the OFT, he said: "Web pioneers like Google have changed the rules of the game" therefore it is "very reassuring to have the case for a new regime supported by the game changer in chief".
Google is the main subject of an ongoing debate regarding the impact of news aggregators on newspapers. Like many other search engines, Google argues that by helping to steer traffic to news sites, it more than compensates for the effects of any advertising profits it may take away - a view seconded by business and current affairs publication, the Economist.
Nevertheless, by backing a move that should ultimately benefit the newspaper community, Google's letter to the OFT could be read as a symbolic gesture of goodwill in a bid to make peace with newspaper publishers.
Sources: Times.co.uk , OFT , OPSI , Brand Republic
The OFT is presently reviewing competition laws as part of Lord Carter's Digital Britain government paper, which - as the Times notes - many industry pundits are hoping will result in changes that will help to stimulate the country's recession-ridden press.
Google has fallen foul of criticism by many within the news sector for siphoning off potential advertising revenue from news organisations, whose content it uses - many say - as "bait." The European Newspaper Publishers' Association is the latest in a line of news organisations to complain about the corporation. At present, news aggregators are able to use content otherwise protected by copyright laws in limited ways, which they use to sell their own ads against.
Chairman of the publishers' Local Media Alliance, Roger Parry, who has reportedly called for competition rules to be opened up, commended Google for taking the initiative to contact the OFT, he said: "Web pioneers like Google have changed the rules of the game" therefore it is "very reassuring to have the case for a new regime supported by the game changer in chief".
Google is the main subject of an ongoing debate regarding the impact of news aggregators on newspapers. Like many other search engines, Google argues that by helping to steer traffic to news sites, it more than compensates for the effects of any advertising profits it may take away - a view seconded by business and current affairs publication, the Economist.
Nevertheless, by backing a move that should ultimately benefit the newspaper community, Google's letter to the OFT could be read as a symbolic gesture of goodwill in a bid to make peace with newspaper publishers.
Sources: Times.co.uk , OFT , OPSI , Brand Republic
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![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.editorsweblog.org%2Fmultimedia%2F2009%2F05%2Fgoogle_relax_law_on_mergers_between_uk_p.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="2707" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2008/10/googlelogo150-thumb-203x83-1038.jpg"><img alt="Thumbnail image for googlelogo150.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/04/googlelogo150-thumb-203x83-1038-thumb-203x83-2707.jpg" class="mt-image-right" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 20px 20px; float: right;" width="203" height="83" /></a></form>In a letter sent to the <b>Office of Fair Trading</b> today, <b>Google</b> is
expected to show its support for newspaper mergers, arguing that
current laws do not reflect the true scope of competition that
relatively recent newcomers such as search engines and internet
companies, in general, represent to publishers, <a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article6314510.ece">the <i>Times</i> has reported</a>.<br /><br />
Despite changes to competition laws as recent as the <a href="http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/competition-act-1998/"><b>Competition Act of
1998</b></a> and the <a href="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2002/ukpga_20020040_en_1"><b>Enterprise Act of 2002</b></a>, the internet giant believes the
existing framework on mergers is potentially stifling to newspapers and
insists that if publishers are to be able to seriously compete with
other information and content providers, they should be given the
freedom to merge with the local and regional news titles of other
publishers. &title=<b>Google</b>: Relax law on mergers between UK papers){kind=link}
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