CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Facebook said on Tuesday that they would share the ban on Australians’ news after entering into an agreement with the Australian government on legislation that would make digital giants pay for journalism.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook have confirmed that they have agreed on amendments to the proposed legislation to pay the social network and Google for Australian news they contain.
The collaboration of Facebook is a major victory in Australian efforts to make the two ports to the internet pay for the journalism they use. The company blocked Australian users from accessing and sharing news last week after the House of Representatives passed the draft law late Wednesday.
The amended version of the proposed legislation gives digital platforms one month’s notice before they are formally designated under the code. This would give those involved more time to reach brokerage agreements before they are forced to make the binding arbitration arrangements required by the proposed law.
Initially, the Facebook news blockade cut off access – at least temporarily – to government pandemics, public health and emergency services, which sparked public outrage.
A statement Tuesday by Campbell Brown, Facebook’s vice president for news partnerships, said the agreement would allow the company to choose which publishers it would support, including small and local.
‘In the coming days, we will be updating news on Facebook in Australia. “The government has stated in advance that we will retain the ability to decide whether news will appear on Facebook, so that we will not be automatically subjected to a forced negotiation,” Brown said.
Frydenberg described the agreed amendments as ‘clarifying’ the government’s intention. He said his negotiations with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg were ‘difficult’.
“There is no doubt that Australia was a proxy for the world,” Frydenberg said.
“Facebook and Google did not hide the fact that they know the world’s eyes are on Australia and that’s why they’re trying to get a code here that is workable,” he added, referring to the proposed News Media Bargaining Code.
The code is designed to limit the negotiating dominance of Facebook and Google in their negotiations with Australian news providers by requiring a negotiation safety net in the form of an arbitration panel. The digital giants would not be able to abuse their overwhelming negotiating positions by offering presentations for their journalism to the news outlets. In the event of a draw, the panel will make a binding decision on a winning bid.
Belinda Barnet, senior lecturer on media at Swinburne University, said the proposed changes guarantee Facebook time to close deals before the arbitration panel decides on the price for news.
Peter Lewis, director of the Australia Institute’s Center for Responsible Technology, a think tank, said in a statement that the “amendments keep the integrity of the media code intact.”
Google has also threatened to remove its search features from Australia because it said the proposed law was unworkable. But that threat has faded.
Google has listed Australia’s largest media companies for content licensing deals through its News Showcase model.
The platform says it uses more than 50 Australian titles by Showcase and more than 500 publishers worldwide, using the model launched in October.
Facebook has said it is now negotiating with Australian publishers under its own model, Facebook News.
“We are pleased that the Australian Government has agreed to a number of changes and guarantees that address our core concern to allow commercial transactions that recognize the value our platform offers publishers, in relation to the value we derive from them. get, “said William’s managing director, Facebook Easton.
“As a result of these changes, we can now work to boost our investment in public interest journalism and restore the news for Australians on Facebook in the coming days,” Easton added.