Australia passes law that will make Google, Facebook pay for news

 

Australia's laws forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news are ready to take effect, though the laws' architect said it will take time for the digital giants to strike media deals.

The Parliament on Thursday passed amendments to the so-called News Media Bargaining Code agreed between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday.

In return for the changes, Facebook agreed to lift a ban on Australians accessing and sharing news.

Rod Sims, the competition regulator who drafted the code, said he was happy that the amended legislation would address the market imbalance between Australian news publishers and the two gateways to the internet.

All signs are good, Sims told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

The purpose of the code is to address the market power that clearly Google and Facebook have. Google and Facebook need media, but they don't need any particular media company, and that meant media companies couldn't do commercial deals, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair added.

The rest of the laws had passed earlier, so they can now be implemented.

Read Complete Article


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Infinix Smart 2 review: 'Value for money' smartphone with tall 18:9 screen

Year in review: From OnePlus to Asus, best midrange flagship phones of 2019

OnePlus 8 review: Meaningful innovations elevate experience, justify price