Australia's New Law Will Make Google And Facebook Pay For Publication Of Their Content To Media Publishers

OVERVIEW

Australia is creating world-first laws that would force Facebook and Google to pay for publication of their content to media. These laws proposed from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have been stated as unworkable by the tech giants.

Treasurer Josh Frynderberg, one of the ministers responsible for the legislation asserted that no other country has stepped in like we have. He further said that it is a difficult process which is still ongoing.

Even though both the digital giants will be able to afford the cost of paying for the Australian news they publish, they are worried about the international precedent the country could set.

WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW?

Both of these tech giants have fought hard against this law, but their response to the law has changed recently.

Facebook said that it would restrict people and publishers from sharing or viewing news links in Australia. It was further stated that this move will be effective immediately. Google, on the other hand exposed a three-year global agreement with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to pay for the news content.

Facebook also said that the proposed law misunderstand the relationship between their platform and publishers who use it to share their content.

VIEWS SUPPORTING LAW

Many have argued that both the tech giants had treated news publishers similarly, and had little incentive to pay the news outlets for content. It has also been asserted that they helped drive a lot of readers to news stories that would not be noticed on other sites.

The constant decline of newspapers contrasted against the billions of dollars Google and Facebook pulled together in digital advertising. This has raised questions like whether the platforms have a responsibility to financially support the publishers.

WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ABOUT THE LAW? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!