Australia Wants Google and Facebook to Pay for the News

Australia plans to make Google and Facebook pay for the news they share through their platforms.

The decision comes after the country conducted a study in 2019 that now shows that Google and Facebook have disrupted local media and the ad market, making it harder for publishers to monetize their material.

The initial plan was a voluntary code of conduct whereby money from social networks goes to publishers.

However, this set-up was unsuccessful, especially around the payment component. The intention now is to introduce legislation by July.

Australian Treasury Secretary Josh Frydenberg says the aim is not to protect traditional media from digital disruption but to ensure a level playing field where market dominance is not abused.

Australia is not the only country struggling with relations between news publishers and digital giants.

Just last week, French regulator Google forced to renegotiate with the French media sector how much the company should pay to have pieces of articles appear in Google News.