The Australian Parliament has officially passed a major law that effectively forced tech titans to pay for news content on Thursday following intense public opposition from Facebook and Google.
The first such move removed its last hurdle when parliament approved a set of amendments to calm Facebook, which blocked Australian users from viewing or distributing news articles last week.
Australian lawmakers said the forthcoming law would address the “bargaining power imbalance” between technology platforms and news publishers, even though its final form gives Facebook and Google more freedom to negotiate.
“The code will ensure that media companies are fairly remunerated for the content they generate, helping to support public interest journalism in Australia,” said Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher in a joint statement.
Officials pushed the law forward even after Facebook imposed a five-day news break in Australia, an unprecedented move that sparked widespread outrage.
Similarly, Google had threatened to shut down its search engine in Australia if the proposal became law, but the Silicon Valley giant has taken a more conciliatory approach to transacting with publishers, including News Corp., which owns The Post. .
Facebook lifted its news block this week after reaching a compromise with Australian lawmakers over changes to the law. A key change gave Frydenberg the discretion to decide that Facebook or Google should not be subject to the code if they make a “significant contribution to the sustainability of the Australian news industry.”
Companies will also have more time to negotiate with publishers before they are forced to enter into arbitration transactions, a process in which a third party would decide how much the technology platforms should pay.
“The Australian government has agreed to the changes which means fair negotiations are encouraged without the imminent threat of heavy and unpredictable arbitration,” Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs, said in a blog post this week.
Rod Sims, chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which originally drafted the law, said the parliamentary-approved version would meet its target, even if the tech giants would take some time to trade with publishers.
“[These] things take time, “Sims said. “Google and Facebook do not have unlimited resources to talk to everyone. I think this has a long way to go. ”
With Post threads