CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Facebook announced on Tuesday that it has lifted a ban on Australians from watching and sharing news on their platform after entering into an agreement with the government on proposed legislation that would allow digital giants for journalism pay.
The social media company sounded the alarm with its sudden decision last week to block news on its platform across Australia after the House of Representatives passed the draft law. Initially, the eclipse also reduced access – at least temporarily – to government pandemics, public health and emergency services, fueling outrage.
Facebook’s collaboration is a major victory in Australia’s efforts to make two major gateways to the internet, Google and Facebook, pay for the journalism they use – a prospect that has been closely watched by governments and technology companies worldwide. Google has also threatened to remove its search features from Australia due to the proposed law, but the threat has faded.
“There is no doubt that Australia was a proxy for the world,” said Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
“Facebook and Google did not hide the fact that they know the world’s eyes are on Australia, so they tried to get a code here that is workable,” he added, referring to the bill. , the News Media. Condition code.
In fact, this week, Microsoft and four European publishing groups announced that they would work together to push Australian style rules for news payments from technology platforms.
The legislation is designed to keep the excessive bargaining power of Facebook and Google in check in their negotiations with Australian news providers. The digital giants would not be able to abuse their positions by offering presentations for their journalism to the news outlets. In the event of a deviation, an arbitration panel would make a binding decision on a winning bid.
Frydenberg and Facebook confirmed that the two parties agreed to amend the proposed legislation. The changes give digital platforms a month’s notice before they are formally designated under the code. This will give those involved more time to reach brokerage agreements before they are forced to make binding arbitration arrangements.
A statement Tuesday by Campbell Brown, Facebook’s vice president for news partnerships, added that the deal 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’.
A lobbying group of European publishers, working together under Microsoft, said the agreement showed that such legislation was possible – and not just in Australia.
“The latest twist proves that regulation works,” said Angela Mills Wade, executive director of the European Publishing Council. “Regulators from around the world will rest assured that they can continue to draw inspiration from the Australian Government’s determination to withstand unacceptable threats from powerful commercial gatekeepers.”
Facebook has said it will now negotiate with Australian publishers.
“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.
Google has meanwhile reported Australia’s largest media companies for content licensing deals through its News Showcase. According to the platform, there are more than 50 Australian titles and more than 500 publishers worldwide using the model, which was launched in October.
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.”
Others, however, were more skeptical. Jeff Jarvis, a journalism expert at City University of New York, said media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who owns most of Australia’s largest newspapers through his American News Corp, is the biggest winner, while smaller titles and new media ventures suffer the most. .
Jarvis said Murdoch’s media empire was the driving force behind Australian law, which he said required media companies to earn at least $ 150,000 ($ 119,000) in revenue to be eligible.
“A startup that has no revenue can therefore not really be used,” Jarvis said. It was added that even if Facebook and Google have payment talks with smaller companies, ‘it’s clear that a smaller player has less influence than a larger player than a News Corp. ‘
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Associated Press author Kelvin Chan contributed to this report from London.