Facebook, in Google’s footsteps, says it plans to invest $ 1 billion over the next three years to “support the news industry.”
The social networking giant, wrestling with Australia over a law that would force social platforms to pay news organizations, said it has invested $ 600 million in news since 2018.
Google said in October that it would pay publishers $ 1 billion over the next three years.
News companies want Google and Facebook to pay for the news that appears on their platforms. Governments in Europe and Australia are increasingly sympathetic to this position. The two tech companies are sucking up most of America’s digital advertising dollars, which has hurt publishers, among others.
Facebook said Tuesday it would lift a ban on news links in Australian after the government agreed to amend proposed legislation that would help publishers negotiate payments with Facebook and Google. Facebook was criticized for its ban, which also temporarily halted access to government, public health, and emergency services pandemics on the social networking site.
Facebook said Tuesday that the changes will allow it to choose which publishers it will support and indicated that it will now close such deals in Australia.
Google had already signed licensing deals with Australian media companies and says it has signed agreements with more than 50 publishers in the country and more than 500 worldwide.
There may be more such regulations in other countries. Microsoft is working with European publishers to push major technology platforms to pay for news. Countries of the European Union are in the process of enacting copyright rules that allow news companies and publishers to negotiate payments.