Facebook agreed on Tuesday to lift its controversial news ban in Australia after the government said it would push through a law change that would force the tech giant to pay for media content.
“As a result of these changes, we can now work on our investment in public interest journalism and restore Facebook news to Australians in the coming days,” said Will Easton, CEO of Facebook Australia.
“We are pleased to have been able to reach an agreement with the Australian government and appreciate the constructive discussions we have had,” Easton added.
The compromise means Facebook and the law’s other prime target – Google – are unlikely to be penalized, as long as they make a few deals with local media companies to pay for news.
The social media giant was outraged last week when it issued the news ban after the House of Representatives passed the News Media Bargaining Code, which would force Facebook and Google to negotiate with media companies that produce the content shared on their platforms.
Facebook fiercely opposes the proposed law, saying it “ignores the reality” of its relationship with publishers who use its service to “share news content.”
Some Australian government and emergency pages were also accidentally scrubbed during the ban, escalating anger.
With pole wires