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Facebook unblocked Australian media after the Government backed down on the proposed law
Recently, Facebook announced to restore Australian news content to its platform after the Australian Government agreed to amend its proposed Media Code, requiring many giant tech companies to pay fees for the news content that display on the platform.
A few days after Facebook has banned all media from Australia as a response and an opposition to the Australian Government’s Media Code, disabling many Australians to read the news on Facebook’s platform (for those who want to read the news will have to directly access the news website or its application). This ban from Facebook has caused a decrease in Australian news’ web traffic by over 20%.
Facebook announced in a statement that “the company satisfied that the Australian Government has agreed to a number of changes and guarantees that address our core concerns about allowing commercial deals that recognize the value that our platform provides to publishers relative to the value we receive from them. The amendment will include a 2-month period for mediation prior to the government-appointed arbitrator’s intervention so both parties can have more time to reach a private deal. Moreover, the arbitrator will also add a requirement that internet companies involved in the establishment of the sustainability of the Australian news industry through the existing agreement.”
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Campbell Brown, Facebook’s vice president of Global News Partnerships, said, “After the discussion with the Australian government, Facebook will retain the right and authority to decide whether or not the news will appear on Facebook if the negotiation is eventually unsuccessful.”
Prior to this, Australia and Facebook have been at loggerheads for over a week about the proposed new law that requires Facebook and Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, to pay publishers for contents shared on the platform. Facebook then decided to ban all news from Australia, including some government organizations and emergency services pages.
However, on the previous weekend, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has negotiated with the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. The pair agreed on the terms during the negotiation. Mr. Frydenberg said, “the amendment will provide clarity to digital platforms and news media businesses about the requirement, operation, and framework to ensure a fair remuneration for the industry.”
However, Google’s previous strong opposition has weakened. They continue to make deals with major media groups in Australia as a revenue-sharing agreement. Simply put, Google is willing to pay the news publishers according to the new law.
Source:
https://brandinside.asia/facebook-get-news-service-back-in-australia/
