Australia officially passed a new law requiring digital platforms such as Facebook and Google to pay for local media news content and publishers that appear in news feeds or search results.
The policy is expected to become effective in the next few days after parliament’s approval of a rule called the News Media and Digital Platform Mandatory Bargaining Code.
“This code of conduct will ensure the news media earn a fair income for the content they produce, helping to maintain journalism in the public interest in Australia,” Australian Finance Minister Josh Frydenberg and Australian Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said in a joint statement. (25/2/2021).
They both also praised the results of negotiations between the Australian government and Facebook and Google reached recently in a commercial deal for the Australian news media business.
This policy was born because Australia saw injustice to the news media and publishers. The reason is, Google and Facebook have never created content or news, but they have benefited greatly by publishing news and content on these two platforms.
Google and Facebook make a large share of the company’s digital advertising due to the wide use of their platforms, while news agencies or publishers earn only a fraction of it from Google and Facebook.
This new law was a source of tension for Google and Facebook. Google said the rule was unworkable because it was not in accordance with Google’s algorithm. Even the search engine giant is threatening to leave Australia. Facebook is even bolder. They block all news content on the platform.
However, Google and Facebook are willing to run this new rule.
Read now: Australia’s New Rule Breaks Google & Facebook Domination
