Media experts call for regulatory measures against Internet giants
The redistribution of advertising revenue across search engines and social media threatens local media, which are essential to the functioning of our democracy. Regulatory measures are needed to curb the power of U.S. internet giants. This is the finding of a new expert survey conducted by Publicom.
Internet giants such as Facebook, Google and others have come under political pressure. It's not just a lack of transparency, data misuse and fake news that are causing concern; their market power is also increasingly coming under scrutiny. Google and Facebook are expected to break the CHF 2 billion revenue barrier in Switzerland as early as this year (Werbewoche.ch reported). But because the US giants keep their country sales secret, nobody knows exactly how big their market power actually is.
A majority of the experts surveyed estimate that Google & Facebook already account for more than 50% of the Swiss advertising market and this figure is set to grow further over the next five years. According to DELPHInarium, print media, television and other online advertising are likely to suffer the most. Out-of-home advertising and radio are the least affected.
Promotion of quality media should curb the power of US corporations
The media experts surveyed view this development with concern. If advertising money is increasingly redistributed to search engines and social media, this will weaken the media, which are indispensable in terms of democratic policy, which could ultimately threaten our democratic system. A clear majority of the experts surveyed are therefore of the opinion that the power of Facebook & Co must be limited by regulation. An expansion of media funding is seen as the most promising approach. The introduction of rigorous data protection regulations should also be considered. More drastic measures such as the introduction of an online advertising tax, on the other hand, are considered less sensible.
Under the name DELPHInarium, Publicom, which specializes in media research and consulting, publishes the results of an expert survey twice a year. Forty experts from leading media companies as well as representatives from advertising, media journalism, communication science and corporate communications take part in the panel.
