4 ms·
I wrote a bit about this in July, when the law was passed, if you want an opinion from a Spaniard: http://cfenollosa.com/blog/spanish-media-just-shot-themselves
by carlesfe 12y ago
I wrote a bit about this in July, when the law was passed, if you want an opinion from a Spaniard: http://cfenollosa.com/blog/spanish-media-just-shot-themselves-in-the-foot----or-maybe-in-the-head.html http://cfenollosa.com/blog/spanish-media-just-shot-themselve...
Let's summarize what is happening here:
Big media editors AEDE, most of which pro-government, in collusion with the
corrupt Spanish politicians have managed a masterstroke which they think will:
1. Get them free money
2. Destroy the discoverability of smaller media competitors, usually critical
with the government
3. Hinder the future of Spanish internet tech business, their main competitor
4. Get more exposure, since readers won't have access to media agreggation and
will resort to reading just one or two outlets
In reality, what is likely to happen is:
1. Google will close Google News Spain, no big problem
2. Spanish media aggregators will move their business abroad and won't
contribute taxes to the country
3. Tech enterpreneurs will realize that Spain is a shitty country to invest money on
4. Without Google, the aggregators, and thanks to the increasing
user boycott to AEDE media, those editors will lose traffic and money.
- SiVal 12y agoAccording to the article: This new legislation requires every Spanish publication to charge services like Google News for showing even the smallest snippet from their publications, whether they want to or not. This sounds as though it won't matter if Spanish news aggregators move abroad, because the law applies to the Spanish news sources themselves, not the aggregator. Unless I'm misunderstanding (and maybe I am, so correct me), if a news publisher inside Spain doesn't demand payment from an aggregator located outside Spain, the publisher in Spain gets punished by the Spanish law. This approach would be a nasty way to do as you said: limit the ability of smaller, alternative news sources, to attract readers. Unless they left Spain, they would not be allowed to volunteer their content to any free aggregator anywhere, and if they DID leave Spain, they would lose the ability to report on local Spanish issues.
- einrealist 12y agoI guess, the law may also be in conflict with EU law/rulings/contracts. Aggregator companies outside Spain have an advantage over those within the spanish jurisdiction. So those spanish companies can call the European Court to fight the spanish law.
- carlesfe 12y agoExactly. And you can even move to a contry where they don't have legal agreements with the EU so that you can't get sued for doing something which is legal in your (new) country
- Atropos 12y agoUnfortunately the law does not work in this direction: It is perfectly fine under EU law if Spain treats its own companies worse than Non-Spain EU companies. Lacking a cross-border element, the EU freedoms (Freedom of services/establishment) don't apply, and I think it would be hard to classify the Spanish law as an export ban. However the Spanish rules might constitute a restriction of competition under EU law, but since the political climate is a bit anti-Google right now, maybe it won't be investigated too closely.
- mcv 12y agoThat is exactly the market opportunity I'm seeing here: news sites for Spanish news that are based outside Spain. Reporting on issues abroad is still possible, and they may even be able to hire freelancers based in Spain. Or to put it another way: with no way to find Spanish news sites online, Spaniards would become entirely dependent on foreign news sites, which creates an incentive for foreign sites to focus more on Spanish news in Spanish.
- muyuu 12y agoThe main media in Spain will start hosting sites abroad to bypass this law. This law is basically a way to hinder smaller media more than collecting money from Google, and in this respect I guess it will work.
- jasonisalive 12y agoIt's always the small fish who suffer the most from socialist policies. Only large organisations can justify the resources to out-maneuever punitive legislation. It's a shame that this irony isn't more widely understood.
- pm90 12y agoI think it is understood pretty well by those large organizations, and also the politicians that they are in cahoots with.
- radio4fan 12y agoWhile I have no opinion either way on your post, I felt that I should point out that Spain's government is not socialist. The party in power (Partido Popular) is on the right of Spanish politics, and sits with the right wing EPP group in the European Parliament. For what it's worth, while the US tends to think of Europe as being socialist, I can't think of any EU countries with socialist governments except Austria and Denmark.
- vsl 12y ago
- fizgig 12y agoSounds like compulsory licencing. Is a pricing schedule spelled out, demanding a minimum charge? Cannot these small shops simply charge Google a token, blanket licence for all their content for, say, $1 and side-step these legislative shenanigans?
- mobiplayer 12y agoPlease someone print this and staple it on the forehead of every single person behind this non-sense.
- Shivetya 12y agoand how soon before EU wide legislation like this makes it was through the halls in Brussels?