Facebook said on Monday that it struck a deal with Australian lawmakers to pay local publishers for their news content, after the government finally agreed to change some of the terms of its new media code.
Why it matters: The deal ends Facebook’s temporary ban on sharing news links on its platform in the country. The data showed that the ban on sharing links caused news traffic to plummet in the region.
- It also ends Facebook’s global ban on sharing user links with Australian news publishers.
Update quickly: Facebook’s decision to stop sharing links was made in response to a new law that would force Google and Facebook to pay Australian news publishers for content, including headlines and links, with terms defined by third parties, if they couldn’t reach payment agreements with local publishers themselves.
- Google struck last-minute payment deals with major Australian publishers last week so it wouldn’t have to circumvent the law and remove Google Search from the country. Facebook doesn’t.
- The law was intended to benefit publishers, but the impact of Facebook’s ban on links showed the power that tech giants have over publishers, who lost a lot of traffic during the confrontation.
Expand graph
What they are saying: “After further discussions with the Australian government, we have reached an agreement that will allow us to support the publishers we choose, including small and local publishers,” said Campbell Brown, vice president of news for Facebook.
- “We are restoring Facebook news in Australia in the coming days,” she said.
Be smart: Facebook had specific problems with a baseball-style arbitration clause in Australia’s new media code, which would see a government-appointed panel set the rate of payment if the parties fail to reach an agreement.
- Sources told Axios that the tech giant feared that the involvement of outsourced arbitrators could help publishers successfully make irrational demands.
- Facebook suggested on Monday that the Australian government changed this part of the law to allow Facebook to close deals with publishers it chooses on its own terms.
What is the next: Moving on, Brown says the Australian government has clarified that the tech giant “will retain the ability to decide whether a news item will appear on Facebook so that we are not automatically subject to forced negotiation”.
- “It has always been our intention to support journalism in Australia and around the world, and we will continue to invest in news globally and resist the efforts of media conglomerates.”
Go deeper: News traffic in Australia falls after Facebook link sharing ban
Editor’s note: this post is being updated as the latest news develops.