Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
Facebook announced on Wednesday that it plans to spend at least $ 1 billion on the news industry over the next three years.
The announcement comes just days after a heated debate with the Australian government over how much Facebook should pay news publishers for the content.
“We’ve invested $ 600 million since 2018 to support the news industry and plan to at least $ 1 billion more in the next three years,” said Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs at Facebook, in a blog published Wednesday market.
“Facebook is more than willing to partner with news publishers,” added Clegg. “We absolutely recognize that quality journalism is at the heart of how open societies work – informing and empowering citizens and holding the powerful accountable.”
Last month, Facebook announced deals with several UK publishers, including The Guardian, Telegraph Media Group, Financial Times, Daily Mail Group and Sky News. As a result, editors will see their content featured on Facebook News, which is a dedicated section within the Facebook app that features selected and personalized news from hundreds of national, local and lifestyle publications.
Clegg said that similar agreements have been reached with publishers in the United States and that Facebook is in negotiations with publishers in Germany and France.
Facebook blocked news pages in Australia last Wednesday after the Australian government announced it would introduce a new law that would require Facebook to pay publishers for links to their stories.
The ban was short-lived, however, with Facebook closing a deal with the Australian government on Monday, which will see him add news pages back to his platform.
Google also plans to spend $ 1 billion on news over the next three years.
Google announced last October that it plans to pay publishers to create and cure content for a new mobile product called Google News Showcase, which will initially go on air in Brazil and Germany before launching in other countries.
Publishers such as Der Spiegel and Die Zeit in Germany and Folha de S.Paulo in Brazil signed up to be part of the launch program.
“The business model for newspapers – based on ads and subscription revenue – has been evolving for more than a century, as audiences turn to other sources,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a blog.
“The internet has been the most recent change and it certainly won’t be the last … We want to do our part by helping journalism in the 21st century.”