CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Facebook announced on Tuesday that it would lift a ban on Australians from viewing and sharing news on its platform after agreeing with the government on a bill that would charge digital giants for journalism.
The social media company sparked alarms with its sudden decision last week to block news on its platform across Australia after the House of Representatives passed the bill. Initially, the blackout also reduced access, at least temporarily, to the government pandemic, public health and emergency services, fueling outrage.
Facebook’s cooperation is a major victory in Australia’s efforts to get two major gateways to the Internet, Google and Facebook, to pay for the journalism they use, a confrontation that governments and technology companies around the world they have seen up close. Google had also threatened to remove its search features from Australia because of the proposed law, but that threat has faded.
“There is no doubt that Australia has been a power battle for the world,” said Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
“Facebook and Google have not hidden the fact that they know the eyes of the world are on Australia, which is why they have sought to get a code that is viable here,” he added, referring to the bill, to the media. communication Negotiation code.
In fact, this week, Microsoft and four European publishing groups announced that they would work together to push Australian-style standards for technology platform news payments.
The legislation was designed to curb the enormous bargaining power of Facebook and Google in their negotiations with Australian news providers. Digital giants could not abuse their positions by making paid offers to take them to news companies for their journalism. In contrast, in the event of a dispute, an arbitral tribunal would make a binding decision on a winning bid.
Frydenberg and Facebook confirmed that both parties agreed to amendments to the proposed legislation. The changes would give digital platforms a month’s notice before they are formally designated under the code. This would give those involved more time to negotiate agreements before they are forced to establish binding arbitration agreements.
A statement from Campbell Brown, Facebook’s vice president of news, added on Tuesday that the deal allows the company to choose which publishers it will support, including small and local ones.
“We will restore news on Facebook in Australia in the coming days. In the future, the government has clarified that we will retain the ability to decide whether news appears on Facebook so that we are not automatically subjected to forced negotiation, ”Brown said.
Frydenberg described the agreed amendments as “clarifications” of the government’s intention. He said his negotiations with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg were “difficult.”
A pressure group from European publishers that is among those joining Microsoft said the deal demonstrates that such legislation is possible, and not just in Australia.
“The latest twist shows that regulation works,” said Angela Mills Wade, executive director of the European Publishers Council. “Regulators around the world will be confident that they can continue to be inspired by the Australian government’s determination to withstand unacceptable threats from powerful commercial gatekeepers.”
Facebook said it would now negotiate deals with Australian publishers.
“We are pleased that the Australian Government has accepted a number of changes and safeguards that address our core concerns about enabling trade agreements that recognize the value our platform provides to publishers in relation to the value we receive from them,” he said. dir William, regional director of Facebook Easton said.
“As a result of these changes, we can now work to boost our investment in public interest journalism and restore news on Facebook for Australians in the coming days,” Easton added.
Meanwhile, Google has signed Australia’s largest media companies into content licensing deals through its News Showcase. The platform says it has deals with more than 50 Australian titles and more than 500 publishers worldwide using the model, which was launched in October.
Peter Lewis, director of the Australian Institute’s Center for Responsible Technology, said in a statement that “the amendments keep the integrity of the media code intact.”
However, others took a more skeptical stance. Jeff Jarvis, a journalism expert at New York City University, said media mogul Rupert Murdoch, owner of most major Australian newspapers through the US-based News Corp, is the biggest winner , while smaller headlines and new media companies would suffer more.
Jarvis said Murdoch’s media empire was the driving force behind Australian law, noting that it includes a requirement for media companies to earn at least A $ 150,000 ($ 119,000) in revenue to be eligible.
“So a revenue-free startup has no real recourse,” Jarvis said, adding that even if Facebook and Google open paid conversations with smaller companies, “it’s clear that a smaller player has less influence. than a player bigger than a News Corp “.
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Associated Press writer Kelvin Chan contributed to this report from London.