The government should pass legislation requiring large internet companies like Google and Facebook to share their advertising revenue from news content with the organizations to which it belongs, according to BJP member Sushil Kumar Modi, who stated on Friday that "Atmanirbhar Bharat needs Atmanirbhar news industry."

According to Sushil Modi in the Rajya Sabha, newsrooms spend tens of millions of rupees on editors, reporters, anchors, and cameramen to gather, verify, and produce material. 

Also Read: Big Tech need to split profits with online news publishers

"Their main revenue source is advertising... He asserted that the major tech companies do not spend money creating content; rather, they distribute pre-made materials.

He asserted that a substantial percentage of advertising spending started shifting in recent years to these potent digital companies that don't make any investments in content production. 

Sushil Modi claims that in 2021–2022, Facebook made Rs 16,189 crore, and Google India made Rs 24,927 crore from advertisements, up 75% from the previous year.

According to the author, the News Media Bargaining Code in Australia serves as an example of how we must ensure that large digital companies pay content creators. 

He claimed that countries like Canada and France have passed laws of this kind and that New Zealand was also working on such legislation. 

He encouraged the Indian government to adopt similar limits in the Digital India Act to compel Google and Facebook to split advertising money and protect Indian media from financial problems.

Sushil Modi claims that the major digital companies threatened a blackout when Australia drafted the law, but they persisted. Now the Australian media is making money through revenue sharing.

Big Tech

The five biggest American tech firms are Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook), and Microsoft. Big Tech, often known as the Tech Giants, refers to these corporations as the most powerful ones in the information technology sector. The Big Five refers to these businesses.

The Big Five—artificial intelligence, e-commerce, online advertising, consumer electronics, cloud computing, computer software, media streaming, smart homes, self-driving cars, and social networking—are leaders in their respective technology fields. 

They are among the most valuable public firms, with a maximum market value ranging from under one trillion to more than three trillion dollars. Meta and Amazon dropped below their trillion-dollar valuations in December 2021 and November 2022, respectively. Among the most renowned employers in the world, Big Tech firms are regarded.