What are the DNPA Dialogues?

They are India’s first-of-its-kind roundtable international dialogue and exchange of ideas focusing on fast changing relationship between the Big Tech giants and news publishers of the world including India . News Industry has taken up the issue of said antitrust practices of the 'Big Tech' with various anti trust bodies of Governments and petitioned before the legislators as well .They have obtained significant reliefs in many parts of the world.

The dialogue will see participation of leading names who led this fight in Australia besides cream of Indian News publishing industry , other stakeholders from government , academia , legal fraternity , technology players , associations , industry bodies, advertisers etc . These interactions would be a great learning experience for the participants.

When will the DNPA Dialogues be held?

The opening edition will take place on November 25 as a web event. It will be followed by the second edition on December 9, which will also be held as a webinar. Subsequent editions of the DNPA Dialogues will be hosted as in-person events as well on a regular basis.

Why are they special?

The ground-breaking policy-level talks at the DNPA Dialogues will be attended by leading representatives and stakeholders from government, academia, and industry circles to exchange ideas on a platform modelled along the lines of India’s Raisina Dialogue and Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue. While the Raisina Dialogue focuses on geopolitics and geoeconomics, and the Shangri-La Dialogue tackles issues of global security, the present round of DNPA Dialogues will be held exclusively to discuss and engage in issues related to the changing contours of relationship between news publishers and technology giants.

Why now?

We live in times when engaging debates are taking place regarding fairness, transparency, and bonhomie in the relationship between tech companies and domestic digital news organisations. The DNPA is proactively hosting these timely Dialogues as a platform of fireside interactions exclusively dedicated to engage with all stakeholders and finding ways to promote fairness in how Big Tech can collaborate with digital news media on multiple fronts, such as news-sharing cooperation and revenue-sharing models.

Who will attend?

The line-up at the 1st DNPA Dialogue, slated for November 25, will be led by Rod Sims, a former Australian antitrust stalwart. He will grace the occasion as the drawcard and keynote speaker. Sims is the former head of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) who famously piloted the Australian government’s successful mission to resolve revenue sharing disputes between Big Tech giants and Australia’s domestic news media. The line-up of eminent speakers will also include Emma McDonald, Senior Policy Adviser, Minderoo Foundation who negotiated for 24 publishers in Australia and struck a deal as well with Google , Peter Lewis, Director at Australia Institute; James Meese, Senior Lecturer at School of Communication, RMIT University; and Paul Thomas, MD, Star News Group; among many other top personalities.

WHAT IS DNPA?

The Digital News Publishers Association, or simply DNPA, is a dynamic, organisation of the digital wings of India’s top news publishers, which aims to promote growth of Digital news publishing in India .

Its motto is to promote, protect, and secure the interests of the news publishers in the digital ecosystem.

Why is the DNPA important?

The association is an advocacy body as well that works with all the stakeholders to achieve its objectives. In recent times, the DNPA has played an instrumental role in pushing for the democratisation of revenue-sharing practices involving Big Tech and news publishers.

What is DNPA’s contribution?

Apart from pushing for collaboration between various stakeholders, promoting the interests of digital news businesses, and seeking to weed out fake news, the DNPA also pursues the need to upgrade rules and regulations governing India’s digital ecosystem.

It has submitted comments on a consultation paper issued by the Ministry of Electronics and IT on the proposed Draft Amendment to the IT Rules, 2021. It has also submitted comments on a TRAI consultation paper, and made submissions for the Draft Telecommunications Bill.

Who are members of the DNPA?

The association represents 17 prominent media publishers in India, including Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, Indian Express, Malayala Manorama, ETV, India Today Group, Times Group, Amar Ujala, Hindustan Times, Zee Media, ABP Network, Lokmat, NDTV, New Indian Express, Mathrubhumi, Hindu, and Network 18.