Law that makes Facebook and Google pay media outlets for news is a 'success' in Australia: Report

The Australian law, which was passed last year for big tech companies to pay for news content shared on their platforms, has been a success and the authorities should consider extending it further to social media forums such as TikTok and Twitter, a recent government report found.

The world watched the implementation of the law and its impact very closely. The law basically gives power to the government to make internet giants Facebook and Google negotiate content supply deals with media outlets.

The landmark law—News Media Bargaining Code—became a controversy when Facebook removed all news from its Australian platform. But the government report suggests that the law must be extended to other media platforms.

The report said, "On the evidence available to the review, at least some of these agreements have enabled news businesses to, in particular, employ additional journalists and make other valuable investments to assist their operations."

"While views on the success or otherwise of the Code will invariably differ, we consider it is reasonable to conclude that the Code has been a success to date," it added.

The Treasury Department report, which was published late Thursday,stated that the tech firms had signed more than 30 deals with media outlets compensating them for the content which generated clicks and advertising dollars.

As quoted by the news agency Reuters, Google director of government affairs and public policy in Australia, Lucinda Longcroft, said that the company had "furthered our significant contribution to the Australian news industry" by signing deals representing 200 mastheads across the country and "the majority of these outlets are regional or local".

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said: "The review shows the Code has been successful balancing bargaining power between news media and digital platforms. Digital platforms must continue to negotiate in good faith with news businesses to ensure they are fairly remunerated for the news content they create."

The report is aimed at recommending new methods the government can take to assess the administration and effectiveness of the law.

The report did not suggest changing the law itself, but it did mention that the law lacked "a formal mechanism to extend the Code to other platforms".

It also suggested the government order the competition regulator, which led to the design of the law, to "prepare reports on this question".

(With inputs from agencies)

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