Facebook will restore news in Australia after talks with the government

by

The announcement closes the month of a bitter dispute between the US tech company and Canberra, which had been working on legislation that would force technology platforms to pay news outlets for content.

The agreement “allows us to support the publishers we choose, including small and local publishers,” Campbell Brown, Facebook’s vice president for global news partnerships, said in a statement. She added that the company was “recovering news on Facebook in Australia in the coming days.”

Last week, Facebook FB Australians barred from finding or sharing news about its service. The decision – which appeared to be the most restrictive step the company has ever taken against content publishers – forced the pages of media organizations and even some unrelated essential services to obscure.

According to Australian Communications Minister Paul Fletcher, Facebook has notified the government of its decision.

The announcement also came as the Australian Senate discussed the latest iteration of the media law, first introduced last summer.

The first version of the legislation would have allowed the media to negotiate individually or collectively with Facebook and Google GOOGL – and to introduce arbitration if the parties cannot reach an agreement.

On Tuesday, the Australian government said it would amend the code to include a provision that should ‘take into account whether a digital platform has made a significant contribution to the sustainability of the Australian news industry by, among other things, negotiating commercial agreements. close with news media companies’. measures.

“The government has clarified that we will retain the ability to decide whether news appears on Facebook so that we are not automatically subject to forced negotiations,” said Facebook’s Brown. “Our intention has always been to support journalism in Australia and around the world, and we will continue to invest in news globally and oppose attempts by media conglomerates to develop regulatory frameworks that do not take into account the true exchange of value between publishers and platforms such as Facebook. “

Google, meanwhile, had already tried to get ahead of the new legislation by announcing partnerships with some of the country’s largest media organizations, including Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp NWS and Seven West Media.
When asked about Google’s partnerships last week, Australian treasurer Josh Frydenberg hinted at the changes finally announced Tuesday. He said that “if there are commercial deals, it changes the equation.”

– Kerry Flynn contributed to this report.

Source