Facebook has reached an agreement with the Australian government and will restore the country’s news pages a few days after it restricted them.
The decision follows negotiations between the technology giant and the Australian government, which is set to adopt a new media law that will require digital platforms to pay for news.
“After further discussion, we are pleased that the Australian Government has agreed to a number of changes and safeguards that address our key concerns regarding the granting of commercial transactions that recognize the value our platform provides to publishers in relation to the value we receive from “, Facebook said in an updated statement.
The government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison has introduced last-minute changes to the proposed bargaining code in the press, which is in Parliament and is expected to be voted on soon.
These changes include a two-month mediation period to allow digital platforms and publishers to broker transactions before they can enter into arbitration as a last resort.
The arbitration clause in the media bargaining code was one of Facebook’s main objections.
He says the arbitrator will rule in favor of either party – the digital platform or the publisher – with no room for a middle ground, according to experts.
According to the amendments, the Australian government will consider the commercial agreements that digital platforms such as Google and Facebook have already concluded with local news media companies before deciding whether the code applies to technology giants.
The government will also give digital platforms a notification one month before making the final decision.
The amendments are expected to provide “additional clarity” to digital platforms and news organizations on how the bargaining code will be implemented, the government said.
– CNBC’s Will Koulouris contributed to this report.
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