Australia’s parliament passed landmark legislation today that requires global digital platforms such as Facebook and Google to pay media outlets for publishing Australian-generated news.
The legislation was passed easily in Parliament after Facebook and Google, the two targets of the legislation, agreed to pay the Australian news organizations.
In response, the Australian government said the act will ensure that the news industry “receives reasonable remuneration for the content it produces, further helping to maintain public interest journalism in Australia.
Prior to the bill’s passage, Google had threatened to withdraw its services from Australia in protest, but last week gave in and signed multi-million dollar deals with several of the country’s largest media outlets, including Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and Nine Entertainment Co.
Facebook, which once took strong action to block Australian news, also said recently that it would restore the news page on the Australian platform after the Australian government agreed to amend the bill.
However, the dispute between Facebook and Australia has become a turning point, followed by Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union, which have said they are considering similar legislation.
David Chavern, CEO of the News Media Alliance in the U.S., said Australia is taking a real leadership role and has influenced the U.S. and Europe with “a worldwide movement to renegotiate the terms of paid news content,” and he hopes the U.S. Congress will also act to support news publishers.
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