Facebook said Wednesday that people and publishers in Australia cannot share and view news from local and international outlets. The announcement is a response to proposed legislation in Australia that would force tech platforms to pay news publishers for content.
“I hope in the future, we can include news for people in Australia once again,” Brown added.
The idea that tech companies should have to pay for content on their platforms has been pushed by publishers for some time now, and Murdoch and News Corp have been one of its fiercest proponents. The fight has become more pressing for the tech platforms as regulators in the US, Australia and elsewhere consider new laws on the matter.
“This legislation sets a precedent where the government decides who enters into these news content agreements, and ultimately, how much the party that already receives value from the free service gets paid,” Easton said. “We will now prioritise investments to other countries, as part of our plans to invest in new licensing news programs and experiences.”
As part of Wednesday’s agreement, News Corp publications in the US, UK and Australia will participate in News Showcase.
Google declined to share the terms of the deal, but News Corp’s press release claimed it will receive “significant payments.”
News Corp CEO Robert Thomson thanked Google CEO Sundar Pichai and his team for showing a “thoughtful commitment to journalism that will resonate in every country.” Thomson also held up the partnership as a major win in the company’s long fight against tech platforms.
“This has been a passionate cause for our company for well over a decade and I am gratified that the terms of trade are changing, not just for News Corp, but for every publisher,” Thomson said in a statement. “For many years, we were accused of tilting at tech windmills, but what was a solitary campaign, a quixotic quest, has become a movement, and both journalism and society will be enhanced.”
