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Facebook to restore news pages in Australia

2021-02-23T10:43:16.317Z


Facebook will restore news pages in Australia after the government agreed to changes to a planned media code.


Strong criticism of Facebook for decision in Australia 1:05

Hong Kong (CNN Business) -

Facebook will restore news pages in Australia after the government agreed to changes to a planned media code that the company says would allow it to maintain greater control over what appears on its platform.

The announcement culminates months of bitter dispute between the American technology company and Canberra, which had been working on legislation that would force technology platforms to pay publishers for news content.

The initial version of the legislation would have allowed the media to negotiate individually or collectively with Facebook and Google, and enter into binding arbitration if the parties could not reach an agreement.

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On Tuesday, the Australian government said it would amend the code to include a provision that it 'must take into account whether a digital platform has made a significant contribution to the sustainability of the Australian news industry through trade agreements with media companies. ».

Meanwhile, arbitration will now only be used as a 'last resort' after a period of 'good faith' mediation.

"The government has clarified that we will retain the ability to decide whether the news appears on Facebook so that we are not automatically subject to forced negotiation," said Campbell Brown, Facebook's vice president of global news associations, in a statement.

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He said the deal "will allow us to support publishers of our choice, including small and local publishers," adding that the company "is restoring news to Facebook in Australia in the coming days."

Last week, Facebook began preventing Australians from finding or sharing news on its service.

The decision, which appeared to be the most restrictive measure the company has taken against content publishers, forced the pages of media organizations and even some essential unrelated services to be shut down.

Facebook's decision to restore the news came when the Australian Senate discussed the latest version of the media law.

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'It has always been our intention to support journalism in Australia and around the world, and we will continue to invest in news globally and resist efforts by media conglomerates to promote regulatory frameworks that do not take into account the true exchange of value between newsgroups. publishers and platforms like Facebook, ”Brown said.

Google, meanwhile, had already been trying to get ahead of the new legislation by announcing partnerships with some of the nation's largest media organizations, including Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and Seven West Media.

Facebook revealed its own deal with Seven on Tuesday.

When asked about Google partnerships last week, Australian treasurer Josh Frydenberg alluded to the changes that were finally announced Tuesday.

He said that "if there are trade agreements, then the equation changes."

- Kerry Flynn contributed to this report.

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Source: cnnespanol

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