CRA wants to Protect the Content of Radio Podcasts

~ jen

Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) has proposed a range of measures to protect broadcasters’ content and limit the ability of global tech giants to use their market power to unfairly erode the business model of commercial radio stations.

In a submission in response to the preliminary report of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s Digital Platforms inquiry, CRA called for stronger protections to limit third parties from benefiting from Australian radio content, including live radio streams and podcasts, without the permission of the content owners.

Chief executive officer Joan Warner said CRA supports the introduction of a Mandatory Standard to enable timely take-down of copyright-infringing content, and further recommend the standard should include hyperlinks to radio station “listen live” websites.

CRA also recommended that the ACCC’s proposed separate review to develop an overarching regulatory framework for all platforms should include a focus on how local content obligations and Australian music requirements are spread across various platforms.

Here are some of the Recommendations:

Verification of Advertising: CRA submits that a reliable digital audience measurement methodology should be imposed upon digital platforms by the Commission (as a condition of access) and must:

  • require that the collection and analysis of the data is conducted by an independent third party
  • be accompanies by a clear, consistent and transparent explanation of the methodology used
  • be consistent across all suppliers of digital advert performance measurement services to enable fair and consistent comparison

Protection of Content against Aggregators: CRA urges the Commission to address this issue in the Mandatory Standard, by requiring digital platforms to remove hyperlinks to copyright protected content upon the request of the right holder.

Many digital platform aggregators are smaller players and the Mandatory Standard must therefore cover digital platforms of all sizes. Its application should not be limited to the larger platforms.