Facebook restores news to Australia

Facebook has announced that viewing and sharing of news in Australia will be restored in the coming days. The local government has promised changes to the bill known as the News Media Bargaining Code. The decision comes after the "constructive discussions" between the Menlo Park company, the Minister of the Treasury and the Minister of Communications.

The news returns to Facebook

The approved bill by the House of Representatives (not yet by the Senate) provides for the payment of a fee to publishers for each news published on the social network or by search engines. The aim of the code of conduct is to give small publishers greater bargaining power.

Facebook had underlined that publishers themselves decide to publish news on the social network to increase subscriptions and advertising revenue (a unlike Google showing news in search results without permission). After the assurances of the Australian government, the Menlo Park company has decided to restore viewing and sharing of news.

One of the changes (amendments) provides for a two-month mediation between publisher and digital platform . After this deadline, the parties will present their respective economic proposals and through arbitration one will be chosen which will become binding. The contribution given by companies to the sustainability of the sector will also be taken into account through commercial agreements with publishers.

Facebook intends to support journalism in Australia with various initiatives, including Facebook News. At the moment there are no official announcements from Google, but the Mountain View company had already signed agreements with some publishers (including News Corp) to show the articles in the News Showcase.

Source: Facebook