Sovereign governments decide news media laws, not tech companies in the US: Paul Fletcher
The former Australian Minister for Communications will speak at DNPA Future of Digital Media Conference 2023 today

At a time when Big Tech monopoly has been throwing a spanner in the works of news media houses world over, the world applauded Australian goverment's moxie for bringing out the News Media Bargaining Code in 2020. The Code became a gold standard for the world as a tool to keep tech giants in line and to create an equitable environment for the dissemination of digital news.
A person who was instrumental in bringing the Code to fruition was Paul Fletcher, the former Australian Minister for Communications, along with Australian PM Scott Morrison.
Fletcher, who is in India to attend the DNPA Future of Digital Media Conference 2023 as a speaker, spoke to e4m about his experience in developing the code, his admiration for India's digital revolution and DNPA's role in taking on Big Tech.
He explained how the Australian government dealt with resistance from Google and Facebook when the draft of the code was first shared with them. "There was a bit of turbulence along the way. Google at one point threatened to withdraw Google Search services in Australia. In response to that, the PM and I met with the global experts of Microsoft who said they will be interested in expanding BING (Microsoft's search engine) in Australia. We didn't hear much more of the threat," he quipped.
Facebook, in retaliation also shut down pages of vital community services like Australian police, ambulances and the Red Cross, a move that turned out to be a PR mistake for the tech company.
"In the face of that, we held firm and there was a strong political leadership from Josh Frydenberg (Former Treasurer of Australia) and the legislation passed parliament. I am pleased to say that both Google and Facebook have since negotiated commercial deals with news media businesses nearly 20 (times) from Google and 13 from Meta," he stated.
Fletcher reiterated that his visit to India has two purposes: first to share his experience in bringing the code to fruition and second, to learn more about the extraordinary success of Indian tech companies like TCS, Infosys and Wipro. He also had some words of praise for India's tech sector, which he describes as "world-leading."
He also expressed his admiration for India's tech revolution: "To deliver services to citizens who only five or ten years ago may not even have had mobile services or a bank account, what's being achieved here is extraordinary."
Fletcher attributes the success to the Indian government, the country's IT sector and the telecom operators who stoked the digital revolution in the country.
Calling the big tech monopoly in news a "competition policy issue", Fletcher highlighted the injustice in Google and Facebook's actions. "They have got extraordinary success in digital advertising. In so doing, they are competing with news media businesses. The content they are using to successfully attract eyeballs includes content by news media businesses."
He emphasised that every country needs to make its own laws to deal with the inequality of news dissemination. "It's a very important principle for governments of sovereign countries to make, but a corollary of that is that it should be a decision made by a sovereign government, not tech businesses in the US. In a liberal democracy, you must have a diverse media."
Speaking about DNPA's role, Fletcher noted that it will help make a case to define the issue and to advocate public policy solutions. "There will be no doubt that the government will be interested in the views of DNPA like other stakeholders."
"When global companies come to a country to operate, they need to comply with the laws of the country," he signed off.
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Dr Praveer Sinha to be part of enba jury panel
Sinha is the CEO & MD of The Tata Power Company Limited
By exchange4media Staff | Mar 14, 2023 8:18 AM | 2 min read
Dr Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD of The Tata Power Company Limited, India’s largest integrated power company, has joined the exchange4media News Broadcasting Awards (ENBA) jury panel. With a rich experience of nearly 36 years, Dr Sinha has expertise in Power Generation and Distribution sector in India.
Dr Sinha previously served as the CEO & MD of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), a Public Private Partnership with the Delhi Government. He is also the Co-Chairman of the CII National Committee on Power as also on various Industry bodies.
Dr Sinha is a qualified Electrical Engineer and has done Master’s in Business Law from National Law University, Bangalore and has also completed his PhD. from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He is a visiting Research Associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, USA and is also a distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science, Ryerson University, Canada.
ENBA was formulated by the exchange4media Group in 2008 with the objective of recognizing the best in television news, and to reward industry leaders who are responsible for shaping the future of television broadcasting in India. This year, ENBA is in its 15th edition and the jury will be led by Sunil Arora, a senior bureaucrat and former Election Commissioner of India.
In the last editions, the ENBA jury was led by Harivansh Narayan Singh – Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Dr Kiran Karnik – Former President – Nasscom, Dr Nasim Zaidi - Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, SY Quraishi – Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, N Ram – Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., Former Editor–in-chief The Hindu and Group Newspapers, Sanjay Gupta – Managing Director – Star India.
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Varanium Cloud to acquire shares from Fastway Transmissions
The acquisition will be worth Rs 2,683 crore
By exchange4media Staff | Mar 4, 2023 6:25 PM | 1 min read
Varanium Cloud Ltd. will be acquiring up to 14,53,44,256 equity shares with a face of Rs 10 each from Fastway Transmissions Private Limited. The total purchase consideration will amount to Rs 2,683 crore.
As per the company, the consideration payable shall be discharged by way of consideration in cash, the company's statement said.
The acquisition will be subject to execution of the Share Purchase Agreement and other related definitive documents.
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Devraj Sanyal elevated to Chairman and CEO of Universal Music India & South Asia
He has also taken on the additional role of SVP, Strategy for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa
By exchange4media Staff | Mar 2, 2023 10:11 AM | 1 min read
Devraj Sanyal has been elevated to Chairman and CEO of Universal Music India & South Asia. Prior to this, Sanyal was the MD & CEO of Universal Music India and South Asia, based in Mumbai. He has also taken on the additional role of SVP strategy for The AMEA (Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa).
He has been associated with Universal Music India since 2011. Prior to that, he was Group CEO of Percept Sports & Entertainment, which includes music, events, television & intellectual properties, branded content & entertainment and talent management divisions. Sanyal also co-founded the prominent Asian electronic music festival, Sunburn, with Percept Ltd.
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MLA Ashish Shelar on ENBA jury panel
Shelar is currently serving as the Bhartiya Janata Party Mumbai president
By exchange4media Staff | Feb 27, 2023 2:39 PM | 1 min read
Ashish Shelar, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra, joins the ENBA jury panel.
Shelar is currently serving as the Bhartiya Janata Party Mumbai president. An active sports administrator, he has held several prestigious positions like Vice President of the Mumbai Cricket Association and Vice President of the Rajasthan Sports Club.
He has been the Mumbai Secretary for the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
The ENBA jury this year will be led by Sunil Arora, a senior bureaucrat, and former Election Commissioner of India.
In the last editions, the ENBA jury was led by Sh. Harivansh Narayan Singh – Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Dr. Kiran Karnik – Former President – Nasscom, Dr. Nasim Zaidi - Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, S.Y. Quraishi – Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, N. Ram – Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., Former Editor–in-chief The Hindu and Group Newspapers, Sanjay Gupta – Managing Director – Star India.
exchange4media formulated enba in 2008 with the objective of recognizing the best in television news, and to reward industry leaders who are responsible for shaping the future of television broadcasting in India.
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Internet growth declined in India in FY22: TRAI
The Internet subscriber base in FY22 stood at 824.8 million, compared to 825.3 million as on 31 March 2021, says TRAI report
By exchange4media Staff | Feb 24, 2023 8:42 AM | 2 min read
India boasts of having the world's second-largest mobile phone market with more than a billion users. Yet, internet growth in the country appears to have declined over the past year.
According to the latest TRAI annual report, the internet subscriber base, as on 31st March 2022, stood at 824.8 million, compared to 825.3 million as on 31 March 2021.
This means nearly 0.5 million (5 lakh subscribers) have fallen off the internet between 2021-22, a year which was marked by covid-19 pandemic and lockdown resulting in massive job losses.
The degrowth was recorded in both broadband and narrowband segments. The narrowband decline was gradual throughout FY22. But in the case of broadband, March 22 quarter was particularly bad as the number of internet subscribers fell from 792 million to 788.2 million.
This degrowth is remarkable especially since India is gearing up to welcome 5G.
The overall telecom subscriber base registered a decrease of 34.27 million subscribers in this period; from 1201.20 million in FY21 to 1166.93 million in FY22, the TRAI report says.
The wireless subscriber base, people who access the internet via mobile phone, was 1142.09 million at the end of 31 March, 2022 in comparison to 1180.96 million a year ago, registering a decrease of 38.87 million subscribers during the financial year 2021-22.
Smartphones are the main gateway to go online - and this is where growth is flattening. India Smartphone Market Declined by 10% in 2022 to 144 Million Units, according to the International Data Corporation ’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. This is the lowest figure since 2019, with a 10% decline YoY (year-over-year).
The last quarter was particularly bad when shipments declined 27% YoY to 30 million units. Steep rise in the cost of mobile phones due to inflation is being blamed for the dwindling demand.
“The ASP (average selling price) hit a record US$224, rising 18% YoY in 2022. The entry-level segment (sub-US$150) shrank to 46% of the market, down from 54% a year ago. The dearth of new launches in this critical mass segment was a barrier for new smartphone users, thus limiting the overall market’s growth,” Upasana Joshi, Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India, said in a statement.
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Shazia Ilmi joins ENBA jury panel
The ENBA jury this year will be led by Sunil Arora, a senior bureaucrat, and former Election Commissioner of India
By exchange4media Staff | Feb 22, 2023 12:52 PM | 1 min read
Shazia Ilmi, former journalist and politician joins the ENBA jury panel.
Ilmi has over 15 years of experience in journalism and documentary filmmaking. As a television journalist, she led the media campaign of an anti-corruption bill. She hosted and produced a famous prime time news show called Desh Videsh on Star News.
Ilmi has been a member of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television. She has been an active politician since 2011. She is currently a spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The enba jury this year will be led by Sunil Arora, a senior bureaucrat, and former Election Commissioner of India.
In the last editions, the ENBA jury was led by Sh. Harivansh Narayan Singh – Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Dr. Kiran Karnik – Former President – Nasscom, Dr. Nasim Zaidi - Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, S.Y. Quraishi – Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, N. Ram – Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., Former Editor–in-chief The Hindu and Group Newspapers, Sanjay Gupta – Managing Director – Star India.
exchange4media formulated enba in 2008 with the objective of recognizing the best in television news, and to reward industry leaders who are responsible for shaping the future of television broadcasting in India.
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Anthony Yesudasan’s last rites to be performed in Delhi today
The last rites will be held at 3pm on 21st Feb. at the Army Cremation Ground, URI Enclave, Barar Square, New Delhi.
By exchange4media Staff | Feb 21, 2023 11:33 AM | 1 min read
The last of Anthony (Tony) Yesudasan, former top executive Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group’s who passed away on 20th Feb will be held today 3pm at:- Army Cremation Ground, URI Enclave, Barar Square, New Delhi.
It must be mentioned that Jesudasan was a close aide of Dhirubhai Ambani’s younger son Anil Ambani and was associated with the Reliance group for close to three decades. He has been working closely with Ambani since the conglomerate split in 2006 and the Reliance ADA Group was formed.
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