an independent arbitrator would choose which of the two parties’ final offer is the most reasonable
That's a very interesting idea. I'm not sure how "reasonable" can be defined — reasonably — in a legal way, but it is a very effective way to force each side to present an offer. Facebook and Google's offer so far has always been "How about nothing? Does nothing work for you?" and the publishers have always been forced to accept. But this rule automatically implies that the giants paying nothing at all is unreasonable, and so any proposal by the publishers would logically be more reasonable by default. And so, Facebook has to give a feasible proposal which would pay publishers some amount — because not doing so amounts to giving a blank check to publishers for whatever they ask.
I think it's a bit shaky from a legal point of view, but I'm looking forward to applying this "choose the most reasonable" rule the next time my children are squabbling.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
