Microsoft will begin compensating Estonian news outlets for their content used in its AI-powered search engine, Bing, under a new agreement with the Baltic Press Publishers’ Collective Management Organization (BPCMO).
Microsoft Reaches Content Deal with Estonian News Publishers
The agreement covers member organizations including Delfi Media, Postimees Group, Õhtuleht Publishing, Äripäev, Hiiu Media, Geenius Media, Nädaline, Raadio Kadi, Võru Teataja and Latvian news agency LETA.
Erik Heinsaar, chair of the BPCMO and board member of Delfi Media, stated that local companies make significant investments in content creation. He emphasized that the use of this content without fair compensation presents a problem, resulting in lost revenue for Estonian media companies.
Heinsaar described the agreement as “first of its kind,” and a positive precedent for future negotiations. The media collective has been negotiating with various partners for over a year and anticipates the Microsoft deal will facilitate similar arrangements.
Bing currently accounts for approximately 4.5–5 percent of searches conducted in Estonia, according to Heinsaar. While he did not disclose the financial details of the deal due to confidentiality clauses, he noted that the figures are larger for Google, which holds nearly 90 percent of the search market.
The deal is seen as a more efficient method than individual negotiations with smaller news outlets.
Heinsaar indicated that tech companies like Microsoft, Google, and potentially OpenAI may prefer negotiating through a collective organization rather than directly with numerous individual publishers. This streamlined approach benefits all parties involved.
The BPCMO chair also suggested that this agreement could pave the way for similar arrangements in Latvia and Lithuania. “Once they see that one deal is in place and the organization is viable, I believe we can secure broader representation in our neighboring countries faster,” he said.
The collective highlighted that Microsoft is the first major tech company to acknowledge the rights of Estonian news publishers and adhere to both the EU’s Digital Single Market directive and Estonia’s Copyright Act.
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