The Australian Parliament on Thursday officially passed an important law, forcing technical titans to pay for news content following intense public opposition from Facebook and Google.
The first measure of its kind removed the last hurdle when parliament approved a set of amendments to appease Facebook, which stopped Australian users from seeing or sharing news reports last week.
Aussie lawmakers have said the enacted law will address the ‘bargaining power imbalance’ between technology platforms and news publishers, although Facebook and Google offer more room for negotiation.
“The Code will ensure that news media companies are reasonably remunerated for the content they generate, which helps to maintain journalism of public interest in Australia,” said Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher. a joint statement said.
Officials have brought the law to the fore, even after Facebook imposed an approximately five-day news eclipse in Australia, an unprecedented move that caused wide-ranging action.
Google has also threatened to shut down its search engine in Australia if the proposal becomes law, but the Silicon Valley giant has finally taken the more conciliatory approach to closing deals with publishers, including News Corp, which owns The Post.
Facebook lifted its news blockade this week after reaching a compromise with Australian lawmakers over amendments to the law. One important change has given Frydenberg the discretion to decide that Facebook or Google do not have to submit to the code if they make a “significant contribution to the sustainability of the Australian news industry.”
The companies will also have more time to negotiate with publishers before negotiating through arbitration, a process in which a third party will decide on the amount to be paid by the technology platforms.
“The Australian Government has agreed to changes that mean fair negotiations are encouraged without the imminent threat of heavy and unpredictable arbitration,” Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of world affairs, said in a blog post this week.
Rod Sims, chairman of the Australian Commission on Competition and Consumers, which originally drafted the law, said the version approved by lawmakers would achieve its goal, even if the tech giants take a while to trade with publishers.
‘[These] things take time, ”Sims said. ‘Google and Facebook do not have unlimited means to talk to everyone. I think it has a long way to go. ‘
With Post threads