Source:-https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia\u2019s government will reveal legislation in Parliament on Wednesday that would make Facebook and Google pay for journalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Tuesday that the legislation to create the News Media Bargaining Code will be scrutinized by a parliamentary committee following its introduction and before lawmakers vote on it next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a huge reform,\u201d Frydenberg told reporters. \u201cThis is a world first. And the world is watching what happens here in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is comprehensive legislation that has gone further than any comparable jurisdiction in the world,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The legislation differs from draft proposals that were released in July after consultations with the social media platforms as well as Australian media organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government had initially planned to exclude state-owned media \u2014 Australian Broadcasting Corp. and the Special Broadcasting Service \u2014 from being compensated by the tech giants for their journalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Frydenberg said those broadcasters would be paid under the latest draft legislation like commercial media businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facebook has warned it might block Australian news content rather than pay for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Google has said the proposed laws would result in \u201cdramatically worse Google Search and YouTube,\u201d put free services at risk and could lead to users\u2019 data \u201cbeing handed over to big news businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Frydenberg said Google was taking 53% of online advertising dollars and Facebook took a 23% share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael Miller, executive chairman of News Corp Australia, one of the nation\u2019s largest media organizations, described the draft legislation as a \u201csignificant step forward in the decade-long campaign to achieve fairness in the relationship between Australian news media companies and the global tech giants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll we have ever sought is a fair commercial outcome and fair payment for the valuable news content our journalists create,\u201d Miller said in a statement. \u201cI believe this code puts in place the framework for this to be achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neither Facebook nor Google immediately responded to a request for comment on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conservative government might need the support of the center-left opposition Labor Party to get the legislation through the Senate, where no party or coalition holds a majority of seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senior Labor lawmaker Jim Chalmers said his party gave in-principle support for \u201cefforts to ensure that the playing field is levelled between the tech platforms and the news media organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Chalmers said the government had yet to brief Labor on the legislation\u2019s details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The legislation would create an arbitrator to address the bargaining imbalance between the tech giants and news businesses. If a platform and a news outlet can\u2019t reach an agreement on price, an arbitrator would be appointed to make a binding decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spain and France and have both failed to make Facebook and Google pay for news through copyright law.<\/p>\n