“The Bill is not a tax; it creates the environment for New Zealand media companies to sit down and have a proper commercial negotiation with big tech companies about their use of our journalism. This has only become necessary because the likes of Google have distorted the market, and become some of the largest and most powerful businesses in corporate history.

“As the United States Department of Justice said in a court case that has just concluded: “One industry behemoth, Google, has corrupted legitimate competition in the ad tech industry by engaging in a systematic campaign to seize control of the wide swath of high-tech tools used by publishers, advertisers, and brokers, to facilitate digital advertising”.

“Earlier this year, Google lost another case in the US, where a judge found it had acted illegally to crush its competition and maintain a monopoly on online search. The US attorney general Merrick Garland called the ruling “a historic win for the American people”, adding: “No company – no matter how large or influential – is above the law.”

“The NPA agrees, and also believes that the Government of New Zealand should be able to make laws to strengthen democracy in this country without being subjected to this kind of corporate bullying.

“Today, all New Zealand publishers have also received communication from Google that make it clear they will punish those with existing agreements if the Government progresses with this legislation.

“We trust the Government will stand firm and act in the interests of New Zealanders.”

For further information and details please contact Andrew Holden