Media publishers are calling for changes in regulations. “In a few years there will be no journalists, only influencers”

– According to our estimates (global platforms – editor’s note) they account for approximately two thirds of the turnover when it comes to online advertising. This means that advertising, which once financed 100% of local Polish media and the most expensive journalistic genres, now flows two-thirds to California – said Bartosz Hojka, president of the management board of Agora Group, on Wednesday during the European Financial Congress in Sopot. The panel discussed how to maintain the competitiveness of the media on the digital market and ensure diversity of content for audiences.

Will there be paid content? “It’s just about making the competition conditions as fair as possible”

– We have to work on a market where we only have one third of the turnover left that once financed this market. This causes the market to shrink rapidly and the media to become rapidly poorer. The quality of the media is declining, Hojka noted. The president of the management board of the Agora Group said that we are facing the challenge of a rapidly shrinking market and competing with “the greatest economic powers of our planet.”

We only want the competition conditions to be as fair as possible. So that intellectual value is protected. In particular, that journalists and publishers be paid for the content they create and that is used by large platforms

– emphasized Bartosz Hojka.

During the discussion at the EKF, the topic of DMA (Digital Markets Act) and DSA (Digital Services Act) regulations was raised, the aim of which is to improve competitiveness in the network and improve security. – We propose that delayed regulations be implemented as quickly as possible. So that there are mechanisms to ensure that they are implemented effectively, so that we do not get stuck in long-term negotiations with large platforms, which will mean that in a few years there will be no journalists and media, only influencers, and in another 2-3 years there will be bots – said the president of the management board Agora Group.

In turn, according to Jacek Świderski, president of the management board of Wirtualna Polska Holding SA, dependence on global platforms means that online publishers are increasingly talking about the need to introduce fees for viewing published content. – It may turn out that portals such as WP or Interia will close their content – he said. – Do we want to lead to a situation where most of the air is sucked out by global platforms at the expense of small or medium-sized publishers? – Świderski asked.

Ignacy Niemczycki, Deputy Minister of Development and Technology, present on the panel, assured that the government is seriously discussing how to strengthen market surveillance institutions. – Our role is to ensure equal conditions of competition. This does not mean that we immediately exclude digital giants from competition. We want the conditions of competition to be equal, he explained.

Discussion at EKF about the future of the media

During the European Financial Congress in Sopot, the future of the media was discussed. The guests of the panel were the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Tomasz Chróstny, the President of the Management Board of Agora SA Group, Bartosz Hojka, the President of the Management Board of Wirtualna Polska Holding SA, Jacek Świderski, Agnieszka Krużewska-Wiercińska, managing partner of WKB Law Firm, Agnieszka Kosik from Brainlabs, the President of the Association of Digital Employers, Maciej Kossowski and Ignacy Niemczycki , Deputy Minister of Development and Technology.