SYDNEY, Tuesday: Facebook and the Australian government have reached a deal that will see the site restore news pages within the next few days. After intense backstage discussions, both parties made concessions on a number of key matters.
The government has revealed Facebook will be restoring news services in Australia, less than a week after the much-publicised boycott.
In a release last evening, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said: “The government has been advised by Facebook that it intends to restore Australian news pages in the coming days – and we have agreed to make changes to the legislation.”
A key element was that the parties agreed to arbitration to resolve most issues. The detail on this has yet to emerge – but Australia made clear that at least some Facebook payment will still be part of the deal.
“We are satisfied that the Australian government has agreed to changes and guarantees that address our core concerns.”
“The Morrison government will today introduce further amendments to the News Media & Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code,” Frydenberg said.
“These amendments will provide further clarity to digital platforms and news media businesses about the way the code is intended to operate and strengthen the framework for ensuring news media businesses are fairly remunerated.”
Facebook also released this statement …
“We’re pleased that we’ve been able to reach an agreement with the Australian government and appreciate the constructive discussions we’ve had over the past week.
“We have consistently supported a framework that would encourage innovation and collaboration between online platforms and publishers.
“After further discussions, we are satisfied that the Australian government has agreed to a number of changes and guarantees that address our core concerns about allowing commercial deals that recognize the value our platform provides to publishers relative to the value we receive from them.
“As a result of these changes, we can now work to further our investment in public interest journalism and restore news on Facebook for Australians in the coming days.”
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