“The social networking site Facebook It will restrict the ability of news organizations and individuals in that country to share or display local or international news content. ”With this phrase, the social network has moved its tab in a long-running game that tech companies have been playing against Australia for a specific reason: The state is introducing a bill requiring these types of companies to pay the media to publish their news.

The discord has developed in recent years due to the massive control that internet companies exercise over digital advertising, which has put media of all sizes in trouble.

(You may be interested in: Why has Facebook banned media news in Australia?)

Australia’s commitment is not new, although it is much more complete than some countries have decided to adhere to, and it is framed in a position that seeks for these companies to have more stringent regulations. Some steps have already been taken: By 2019, The European Union decided that these platforms should pay a sum to the media they link to.

In the Australian case, the government decided to take action on the matter due to the crisis suffered by local media due to the epidemic, which led to some of them being closed.

In this, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission decided that in that country, For every $ 100 spent on digital ads, Google keeps $ 53, and Facebook, with $ 28., Leaving only $ 19 in the bag to hand out among others.

(What is more: Facebook is about to launch a watch to compete with the Apple Watch)

The Australian bill did not go well for the tech giants as it is seen as an attack on their business model. This led to the fact that, last Thursday, Facebook users in Australia could no longer access news content within the social network, nor could media accounts post it.

Said William Easton, CEO of Facebook Australia and New Zealand The company’s decision has an international impact on the Australian media.

Globally, the ability to publish and share news links from Australian media will also be restricted. To do this, we use a combination of technologies and We will have processes in place to review any content that might get blocked accidentally or by mistakeEaston said.

With this, Australian media will be able to access their Facebook pages, but will not be able to publish the news. They will be allowed to benefit from other functions and tools such as interaction with their followers and trends to watch.

(We recommend that you read: Microsoft supports search engines that pay for news)

As for international media, they will be able to share news links, but users in Australia will not be able to see them.

“We hope that in the future the Australian government will recognize the value we provide and that we can work together to strengthen, rather than reduce, our alliances with the media,” Facebook said.

The decision was not well accepted That country’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, called it an arrogant act.

In this sense, Carolina Botero, digital analyst and director of the Charisma Foundation, pointed out that Facebook’s position is “disproportionate and very aggressive”, which directly affects users, Create more barriers to accessing information.

Google gives little

Although Google initially threatened to shut down the Australian search engine if the law is passed, in recent days it reached an agreement with the News Corp media group to pay for news content. This includes the media in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia.

(What is more: Twitter is considering charging a subscription fee for some features)

In addition to this, the News Showcase platform was launched in the country of the ocean, at the beginning of February, which has an investment plan of one billion dollars, and Local and regional media are paid for the news published within them.

The truth is, there is still a lot to do in this game. Australia is willing to continue fighting these companies, setting an important precedent for other countries that welcome these regulations. What did you say Prime Minister Morrison, they will not be “intimidated.”

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Technosphere
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