Facebook will lift its news ban for Australian users and publishers, less than a week after making the shock decision.
The ban last week was in response to a proposed new Media Bargaining Act – meaning that Australian users can no longer view or share local news, while international Facebook users have also been denied access to Australian news.
Removing the ban means the local news publications and sites will return to Facebook, and content will be allowed to be shared again in the coming days.
Australian News To Be Restored
“Australian news will be restored to the Facebook platform, and Facebook has committed to entering into good faith negotiations with Australian news media businesses and seeking to reach agreements to pay for content,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told reporters.
Mr Frydenberg thanked Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg for “the constructive dialogue we have had in recent days”.
“This has been a difficult process, but this is a very important issue. These are important issues because the purpose of this code and the objectives of the Morrison Government are to maintain public interest journalism in the country, ”he said.
“That is why we have sought to put this code in the right place, which is why the Prime Minister now, then-Treasurer, commissioned the ACCC to undertake this groundbreaking review a number of years ago.”
Mr Frydenberg added that “there is no doubt that Australia has been a proxy battle for the world”.
“I have no doubt that so many other countries are looking at what is happening here in Australia, because of this innovative code, that the Australian Government, the Morrison Government is now pursuing, so Facebook and Google have not hidden the fact that they know that the eyes of the world are on Australia, and that is why they have sought to get a code here that is workable,” he said.
Australian news platforms will begin returning to Facebook in the coming days.
Facebook’s Statement
Facebook also confirmed the news, saying in a statement that it was “pleased that we’ve been able to reach an agreement with the Australian government and appreciate the constructive discussions we’ve had with Treasurer (Josh) Frydenberg and (Communications) Minister (Paul) Fletcher over the past week”.
Mr Frydenberg said in a statement earlier: “The amendments will strengthen the hand of regional and small publishers in obtaining appropriate remuneration for the use of their content by the digital platforms.
“These amendments will provide further clarity to digital platforms and news media businesses about the way the Code is intended to operate and strengthen the framework for ensuring news media businesses are fairly remunerated.”
The Amendments
The amendments include a consideration of into account whether a digital platform has made a significant contribution to the sustainability of the Australian news industry through reaching commercial agreements with news media businesses”.
William Easton, managing director of Facebook Australia and New Zealand, said: “We have been supporting a framework that will promote innovation and collaboration between online forums and publishers,” said the communications giant.
“After further discussions, we are satisfied that the Australian government has agreed to a number of changes and guarantees that address our core concerns about allowing commercial deals that recognise the value our platform provides to publishers relative to the value we receive from them.
“As a result of these changes, we can now work to further our investment in public interest journalism and restore news on Facebook for Australians in the coming days.”
What Has Been Happening In The Past Week?
The communications giant made a shocking decision last Thursday to shut down news pages, after the Federal Government moved ahead with a plan to force platforms to pay for news content.
Facebook and Google both initially reacted angrily, with Google threatening to pull its search engine from the country during an investigation in January.
Mr Frydenberg held “constructive” discussions with Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg over the weekend, where he “reiterated the Morrison government’s commitment to implementing the code and seeing journalists rewarded for generating original content”.
The talks follow Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s powerful attack on the media ban last week, where, in a post, he criticized not only the deletion of media pages, but also government agencies.
“Facebook’s actions to unfriend Australia today, cutting off essential information services on health and emergency services, were as arrogant as they were disappointing,” Mr Morrison said.
