CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Facebook said on Tuesday it would lift a ban on Australians sharing news after agreeing legislation with the Australian government that would charge digital giants for journalism.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook confirmed that they have agreed to amendments to the proposed legislation to require the social network and Google to pay for the Australian news they present.
Facebook’s cooperation is a major victory in Australia’s efforts to get both internet tickets to pay for the journalism they use. The company had blocked Australian users from accessing and sharing news last week after the House of Representatives passed the bill on Wednesday at the end.
The amended version of the proposed legislation would give digital platforms a one-month notice before they are formally designated under the code. This would give those involved more time to negotiate agreements before they are forced to enter into the binding arbitration agreements required by the proposed law.
Initially, the blocking of Facebook news cut off access, at least temporarily, to the government pandemic, public health and emergency services, causing public outrage.
A statement from Campbell Brown, vice president of Facebook news collaborations, said 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.”
“There is no doubt that Australia has been a power battle for the world,” Frydenberg said.
“Facebook and Google have not hidden the fact that they know the eyes of the world are on Australia and that is why they have tried to get a code that is viable here,” he added, referring to the proposed Media Negotiation Code.
The code was designed to curb Facebook and Google’s negotiating dominance in its negotiations with Australian news providers, requiring a negotiating safety net in the form of an arbitral tribunal. Digital giants would not be able to abuse their overwhelming bargaining positions by making take-away pay offers to news companies for their journalism. In case of disagreement, the court would make a binding decision on a winning bid.
Swinburne University senior media professor Belinda Barnet said the proposed amendments guarantee Facebook time to reach agreements before the arbitral tribunal decides the price of the news.
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.”
Google had also threatened to remove its search features from Australia because it said the proposed law was unfeasible. But that threat has faded.
Google has signed on to Australia’s largest media companies in content licensing deals through its News Showcase model.
The platform says it has deals with more than 50 Australian titles through Showcase and more than 500 publishers worldwide using the model which was launched in October.
Facebook said it will now negotiate deals with Australian publishers under its own model, Facebook News.
“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.