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Facebook and Google are being forced into a code of conduct with Australian media companies.Credit:Bloomberg

In a submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's inquiry into digital platforms obtained byThe Sydney Morning Herald andThe Age,SBS argues that a collective bargaining agreement is the best option to negotiate with the digital platforms.

"The bargaining power between major digital platform operators and news media organisations must be appropriately balanced so news providers are adequately compensated for their content and have access to the information needed to best serve their audiences,"a spokesman told the Herald andThe Age.

"The Code should make provisions for collective bargaining,while also allowing flexibility for individual news media businesses to continue to agree individual commercial arrangements with the digital platforms,either as part of or outside of the Code processes."

Industry sources said the ABC's submission,sent to the competition regulator earlier this month,does not propose a particular payment model but argues that if revenue sharing does occur,the ABC should receive a cut.

Any portion of money from digital platforms could provide some relief to the broadcaster,which is about to axe more than 200 jobs and is in the middle of athree-year funding freeze. ABC declined to comment.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission wasgiven the task of creating the compulsory code earlier this year and is expected to present a draft in July.

Nine chairman Peter Costello and News Corp Australia executive chairman Michael Miller have estimated the tech giants should pay publishers about 10 per cent of local revenue,which would be between $600 million and $1 billion.Facebook andGoogle have played down the commercial benefit news brings to their platforms and are resisting the push for payment.

Nine is the publisher of this masthead.

Both the public broadcasters and commercial media companies agree that a collective pool of money is the most effective way to aggregate funding from tech giants.

Nine chief executive Hugh Marks has previously said the public broadcasters should not be entitled to payments from the platforms."Google and Facebook are benefits to them,"Mr Marks previously told theHerald andThe Age."The ABC should not be able to participate in a commercial sense in effectively a model designed to deal with commercial interruption."

Mr Marks has previously said thata collective licensing agreement was most effective way to aggregate money and that the funding should be split based on investment in journalism. Industry sources have previously said News Corp,publisher ofThe Australian,The Daily TelegraphandThe Herald Sun,would prefer to negotiate directly with Google and Facebook and use the code as a means of arbitration in the event of a dispute over payments.

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