Australian parliament passes media reforms after last-ditch changes
(VOVWORLD) -Australia’s parliament passed a law on Thursday to make Google and Facebook pay media companies for content on their platforms in reforms that countries such as Britain and Canada are looking to replicate.
After robust negotiations in which Facebook blocked all news content in the 13th-largest economy, the vote makes Australia the first nation where a government arbitrator can set the price tech giants pay domestic media if private talks fail.
Facebook’s news ban, which also blacked out many nonprofit and government pages, including those of public health agencies promoting reliable information about COVID-19, would be lifted the following day, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in a radio interview, eight days after the measure took effect.