Facebook on Tuesday agreed to lift its controversial news ban in Australia following a change in a law forcing tech giants to pay for media content by the government.
Facebook Australia managing director Will Easton said, “As a result of these changes, we can now work to advance our investment in public journalism and restore news on Facebook to Australians.”
“We are happy that we are able to reach an agreement with the Australian Government and appreciate the constructive discussion,” Easton said.
The compromise means Facebook and the law’s second main target – Google – are unlikely to be punished until they arrive to pay news for certain deals with local media firms.
The social media giant created an uproar last week when it issued a news ban after the House of Representatives passed a news media bargaining code that would force Facebook and Google to negotiate with media companies that are on their platforms Produces content that is shared.
Facebook has vehemently opposed the proposed law, saying it “ignores the realities” of its relationship with publishers who use its service “to share news content”.
Some Australian government and emergency services pages were also mistakenly scrubbed due to the ban, leading to increased fury.
With post wires
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