Facebook agreed on Tuesday to lift its controversial Australian news ban after the government said it would amend a law that would force the tech giant to pay for media content.
“As a result of these changes, we can now work to continue our investment in public interest journalism and to restore Facebook news for Australians in the coming days,” said Will Easton, CEO of Facebook Australia.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the Australian government and appreciate the constructive discussions we have had,” Easton added.
The compromise means that Facebook and the other main target of the law – Google – are unlikely to be sanctioned as long as they reach some agreements with local media companies to pay for the news.
The social media giant was outraged last week when it issued the news ban after the House of Representatives adopted the Media News Negotiation Code, which would force Facebook and Google to negotiate with media companies that produce content shared on their platforms.
Facebook vehemently opposed the proposed law, saying it “ignores the realities” of its relationship with publishers who use its service to “share news content.”
Some pages of the Australian government and emergency services were also accidentally washed in the middle of the ban, escalating anger.
With Post threads