Line (Thailand) accused of overcharging media, reselling news
Line (Thailand) is discussing its controversial practice of publishing news articles from its Line Today platform on Google, after media outlets complained that the company’s attempt to increase advertising revenue from news they specifically publish on the Line accounts they pay for is unfair.
"The incident is due to an internal adjustment," Line (Thailand) said.
Media outlets are complaining that Line (Thailand)’s republishing of their news on Google erodes the advertising revenue they gain from their Line accounts.
They also said that Line’s official account (Line OA) – which Line (Thailand) asked them to use instead of Line Idol – increased their operating costs.
Line (Thailand)’s about 5 million Line OA users are suffering as a result, reported Nation Thailand sister news outlet Thansettakij. News outlets now pay up to 1 million baht per month to disseminate their news to Line (Thailand) users, compared to up to 10,000 baht per month before.
The rise in operating costs is due to a limit on sending free messages. Additional charges are applied for exceeding the number of messages sent in the package purchased by a media outlet or agency, Thansettakij reported.
Before it was shut down on December 31, Line Idol was a communication platform that helped artists, bloggers, celebrities and publishers connect with their fans. It had four accounts: Celebrities, Net Idols, Bloggers, and Publishers.
This channel had served as an important platform for access to monitored and verified content.
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