Facebook has reached an agreement with the Australian government and will restore the country’s news pages days after restricting them.
The decision follows negotiations between the technology giant and the Australian government, which is expected to pass a new media law that will require digital platforms to pay for the news.
“After further discussions, we are pleased that the Australian government has agreed to a series of changes and guarantees that address our main concerns about allowing commercial deals that recognize the value that our platform offers publishers in relation to the value we receive from them,” said Facebook said in an updated statement.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government introduced last-minute changes to the proposed media negotiation code that is in parliament and is due to be voted into law soon.
These changes include a two-month mediation period to allow digital platforms and publishers to negotiate before entering arbitration as a last resort.
The arbitration clause in the media’s trading code has been one of Facebook’s main points of objection.
He says the arbitrator will decide in favor of either party – the digital platform or the publisher – with no room for an intermediary agreement, according to experts.
Under the amendments, the Australian government will consider commercial agreements that digital platforms like Google and Facebook have already made with local media companies before deciding whether the code applies to technology giants.
The government will also give digital platforms a month’s notice before reaching the final decision.
The changes are expected to provide “more clarity” to digital platforms and news organizations about how the trading code will be implemented, the government said.
– CNBC’s Will Koulouris contributed to this report.
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