Australia has passed a new law that will compel tech companies to pay publishers for news content, and would also place similar actions on other countries. The law creator said it will take time for the digital firms to strike media deals. On Thursday, the Australian Parliament passed amendments to the so-called News Media Bargaining Code agreed between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday. With changes in the laws, Facebook has admitted to lifting the ban on Australians accessing and sharing news.
The new code, which the Australian parliament approved Thursday, "will ensure that news media businesses are fairly remunerated for the content they generate," Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in a statement.
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 ook 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 remaining laws had been passed earlier, so now the implementation can take place.
Google has already come to agreements with important new business in recent weeks, including News Corp and Seven West Media.
Advancement by Google and more recently Facebook in striking commercial deals with Australian news businesses is very gratifying, said Frydenberg. However, Country Press Australia, representing 161 regional newspapers countrywide, has been apprehensive that small publications outside big cities might miss out on this.
It is not surprising that the platforms would first strike deals with large city businesses, said Sims adding that all journalism will benefit, there shouldn’t be doubt about it.
"There things take time. Google and Facebook don't have unlimited resources to go around talking to everybody. I think this has got a long way to play out," he added.
The latest amendments amounted to a 'small victory' for Zuckerberg, said Chris Moos, a lecturer at Oxford University's Business School, believing that the legislation will likely rise in small payouts for the Australian news publishers, Facebook could again block Australian news if negotiations broke down, said Moos.
The new media law was formulated to control the outsized trade power of Facebook and Google in their compromises with Australian news providers. With this, these digital platforms could not abuse their positions by accepting them or leaving them proposals to news businesses for their journalism. Instead in case of a deadlock, a negotiating board would make a binding decision on a winning offer.
Frydenberg and Facebook confirmed that both sides have agreed to amendments to the proposed legislation and these changes would provide digital platforms one month's notice before they are formally applied under the code, allotting more time to those involved in breaking agreements before they are forced to accept binding arbitration arrangements.
Also Read: Facebook to restore news links in Australia after tweaks on media laws
Campbell Brown, Facebook’s vice president for news partnerships on Tuesday said that the deal permits the company to choose which publishers to support including small and local ones.
Frydenberg said his department will review the code within a year to "ensure it is delivering outcomes that are consistent with government's policy intent."