The Indian government has not yet laid down any guidelines that mandates digital platforms like Google, X Facebook or other tech companies to share revenue with digital news publishers — a trend that is increasingly being seen in developed countries, including Canada, France and Australia.

“No decision has been taken to lay down any Code, etc. for such revenue sharing arrangement (between Big Tech and news publishers),” Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur has said in Lok Sabha (Lower House).

However, the Minister did admit that the issue regarding sharing of advertising revenue by Big Tech with digital news publishers has been “raised by stakeholders with the government” in the past.

Thakur was replying to queries from his fellow parliamentarians in Lok Sabha earlier this week on Tuesday.

An MP had queried the Minister whether the government provided financial assistance to the digital news media organisations in the country in the last three years and whether  it was proposing a plan of revenue share between digital media organisations that provide content and Big Tech.

Thakur also said, “There is no scheme of the Central Government to specifically provide financial assistance to digital news organisation.”

The News Broadcasters & Digital Association, an industry body of some of the bigger news outlets, had written to Google, for example, early 2021, highlighting the issue of revenue share and the general ‘opaqueness’ adopted by platforms like Google on compensating news publishers.