Canberra: In Australia, Google and Facebook may have to pay for news content. The Australian government said on Friday that it plans to give Google and Facebook three months’ time to negotiate with media companies to determine the appropriate payment for news content.
The government has released a draft mandatory code of conduct, whereby global digital companies have to pay for news content taken from commercial media companies. Other countries of the world have failed to enact any such code. Finance Minister Josh Freudenberg said that Google and Facebook have been the first targets under the proposed law.
After this, other digital platforms will also be asked for payment. Freudenberg said, “This is appropriate from the point of view of Australia’s media companies. This will increase competition, consumer safety, and bring stability to the media sector. ” The draft states that if the US digital forums are not agreed with the media companies of Australia even after three months, the arbitrator will be appointed, whose decision will be binding. Freudenberg said the draft would be discussed by August 28. It will then be tabled in Parliament. There is no immediate response from Facebook and Google on this.
