Former Facebook boss says regional publications lose out in new media deal
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ThuThursday 25
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ThuThursday 25
Stephen Scheeler, the former CEO of Facebook Australia and New Zealand
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Regional and independent new outlets are the big loser in the federal government s revised media code, according to the former chief executive of Facebook Australia.
Key points:
Facebook s former Australian CEO says the media code is bad news for regional newspapers
Regional newspaper editors are questioning why Facebook has the power to decide if they were a publisher
Earlier this week, social media giant Facebook agreed to walk-back its block on Australian news content after the government agreed to make amendments to the proposed media bargaining laws.
Australian news is back on Facebook
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Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young roasted Treasurer Josh Fryderberg, telling Parliament: The government has buckled here. You ve blinked, you weakened the power the minister has because Facebook bullied you. This is a face-saving exercise by the Treasurer .
Facebook shocked the world last week when it blocked Australian news websites in response to a new law forcing it to pay media companies for news content.
The tech giant on Tuesday said it would end the ban after the government made changes to the bill, including a clause exempting a platform if it makes a significant contribution to news in Australia.
The Greens and independent senator Rex Patrick said this amendment could allow the Treasurer to let big tech off the hook after just a few deals with large companies like News Corp, leaving smaller publishers unable to get any cash.
By VLAD SAVOV | Bloomberg | Published: February 24, 2021 Facebook s brief but tempestuous standoff with the Australian government over a world-first pay-for-news law is only the start of a string of regulatory battles that the world s biggest social network faces in 2021. Mark Zuckerberg started the year on the offensive, blocking news across Rupert Murdoch s home turf of Australia to fend off demands that Facebook pay media companies for content shared on its platform. On Tuesday, Zuckerberg struck a compromise after 11th-hour talks with the government on the legislation that s also aimed at Google and is expected to pass Australia s parliament this week. But a regulatory domino effect is already underway, with publishers pressuring the European Union to emulate Australia s approach.
February 24, 2021
Facebook blocked the entire nation of Australia from sharing news on its platform last week. The social media company argued it took the drastic action in reaction to a disagreement over planned Australian government legislation. Although the company finally restored Australian news pages after a five-day standoff and reaching an agreement, the whole episode is a sobering reminder of the enormous power the company possesses and the degree of harm it could cause with a few simple clicks.
Last summer, the Australian government introduced a draft “news media bargaining code,” which sought to address the “bargaining power imbalances between Australian news media businesses and digital platforms, specifically Google and Facebook.” The government decided such a law was necessary because surveys find more than half of Australians used Facebook as their top source of news.
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