Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday said that Australia’s “media platform bill” is attracting the attention of the other world leaders, and he had discussed the situation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
From Thursday, Australians could no longer share news content or view the Facebook pages of Australian outlets, which are also barred from sharing their content. This has sparked global outrage against the social media platform.
Great to talk to my good friend PM @narendramodi again. As Comprehensive Strategic Partners, we can work together on common challenges incl #COVID19, the circular economy, oceans & an open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific. We also discussed progress of our media platform bill. https://t.co/fjAeLecCYA
— Scott Morrison (@ScoMo30) February 19, 2021
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he had spoken with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday and that negotiations would continue over the weekend.
“The Australian Government remains firmly committed to legislating & implementing the mandatory media bargaining code. This is all about levelling the playing field, protecting public interest journalism & ensuring journalists are rewarded for generating original content,” Frydenberg wrote on Twitter.
The Australian Government remains firmly committed to legislating & implementing the mandatory media bargaining code.
This is all about levelling the playing field, protecting public interest journalism & ensuring journalists are rewarded for generating original content. pic.twitter.com/3gBRNUlehq
— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) February 19, 2021
The Australian government has refused to back down from introducing a new law that would require Facebook to pay for journalistic content on its platform.
The new law in question, titled News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code, was passed by the Australian Parliament’s lower house this week.
At the same time, The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) have also engaged in a dialogue with the tech giant seeking a fair monetisation of their content.
