Translated material
VK proposed installing the Zen news block on all major Internet platforms in Russia. And for news sources to be selected by the government
The VK company proposed creating a National Information Platform based on the Zen news aggregator, which will be required to be built into websites and applications of marketplaces, social networks, video services and other Internet platforms, the Kommersant newspaper reported on April 13, citing VK’s presentation.
According to the publication, the corresponding bill is expected to be submitted to the State Duma for consideration in May. The Law “On Information” proposes to consolidate the status of the National Information Platform and the mechanism for its regulation.
The VK presentation states that the Zen news block should appear on sites and applications of search and audiovisual services, social networks and classified sites (that is, sites with advertisements).
It is expected that in social networks and search services a block with the top 5 news will be placed as a widget on the main page, and on other sites there will be a button that will lead to the “Zen” section with the top 15 news.
VK proposed that services with a daily active audience of more than five million people install such a widget immediately after the adoption of the law, and the rest be given a deferment of six months.
The VK presentation states that the government will select the media whose headlines will be displayed in the Zena news block, and it will also select the operator of the National Platform for five years.
The authors of the idea proposed sharing advertising revenue with the sites where the widget will be installed, as well as supporting the media whose headlines appear in Zen.
In the VK presentation, the need for the bill is argued by the departure of foreign traffic services and the flow of audiences to instant messengers and “no news” platforms. The presentation clarifies that since 2022, the media audience has decreased by 30–70%. At the same time, the media have become “critically dependent on Zen traffic, as it provides up to 80% of transitions to media sites,” the presentation says.