Australias laws forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news are ready to take effect, though the laws' architect said it will take time for the digital giants to strike media deals. 25, 2021, passed amendments to the so-called News Media Bargaining Code agreed between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)CANBERRA – Australia’s law forcing Google and Facebook to pay for news is ready to take effect, though the laws' architect said it will take time for the digital giants to strike media deals. In return for the changes, Facebook agreed to lift a ban on Australians accessing and sharing news. “The purpose of the code is to address the market power that clearly Google and Facebook have.

Australian Communications Minister Paul Fletcher declined to say whether he thought Facebook would make good on its threat. We dont respond to coercion or heavy handed threats wherever they come from, Frydenberg said, referring to the Facebook threat. Facebooks threat today to prevent any sharing of news on its services in Australia is ill-timed and misconceived, Sims said. My sense would be in terms of overall revenues for Facebook, not very much, Flew said of costs. The draft legislation that aims to make Australia succeed where other countries have failed in forcing the companies to compensate media businesses for news content was made public in July.

But Facebook said on Friday that the news section would include Breitbart. Brown, however, suggested that despite such a history, Breitbart has met Facebook's "integrity standards for misinformation." "All the content on Facebook News today meets those standards," Brown wrote. Over the last several days, Facebook executives have sidestepped concerns about Breitbart's inclusion in its news section. Those in the journalism field, including some conservatives, have strongly criticized Facebook for including Breitbart in its news section.