Australia Wants Facebook And Google To Pay News Outlets For Their Content. Could Governments Around The World Follow?
As the coronavirus pandemic decimates the economics of the news industry, the Australian government is stepping in. It may not be the only one.
Australia Moves to Force Google and Facebook to Compensate Media Outlets
The decision, announced after talks on a voluntary system stalled, is part of a global push to save local news organizations.
Australia is early out of the gate with a plan to require Facebook and Google to help pay for news content they link to, as a way of sharing advertising revenue..
The explorations and negotiations leading to this proposed policy shift were underway prior to COVID-19, but the pandemic (and its acceleration of the crisis in news) has added urgency.
Change model: direct regulatory action
Intended goal: support legacy news operations and local and national journalism
