Displaying items by tag: News media code

The ABC is unwilling to say whether it provides Google and Facebook access to the data of iview users, a considerable number of whom have created accounts to access the service prior to 1 July based on ABC warnings that logins would be compulsory in the new financial year.

Google has taken a swing at Microsoft over its statements on the recent media stoushes, accusing the Redmond behemoth of "making self-serving claims", and being "willing to break the way the open web works in an effort to undercut a rival.

A shade over two weeks since Treasurer Josh Frydenberg crowed that Australia had put in place "world-leading legislation" to bring Facebook and Google into line, no big news organisation has signed a deal with Facebook to share news content.

With the news media code now signed into law, it is time for all three entities involved in the drama that played out over the last few weeks — Google, Facebook and the Federal Government — to claim victory.

Veteran telecommunications consultant Paul Budde has summed up Tuesday's events in the stoush between the digital platforms and the Federal Government in a rather pithy way: "Facebook stays, everybody is happy. but nothing has changed."

ANALYSIS Despite all the brave talk emanating from Canberra, Facebook has comprehensively dictated the terms under which it will restore news content to Australians.

Social media giant Facebook has agreed to restore Australian news content in "coming days" after the Federal Government made additional amendments to the news media code bill that is currently in the Senate.

If the initial reaction to Facebook's sudden decision to cut Australians off from the site on Thursday was idiotic, it became even more ludicrous on Friday, with reactions from politicians and the media competing to be dubbed the silliest of the lot.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made his reaction known to the blocking of news content in the country by Facebook – in a post on Facebook.

OPINION: With Facebook now blocking Australian news sites from posting their news stories to Facebook, along with many organisations like the Australian Bureau of Meteorology an unexpected casualty, has Facebook begun a descent into Myspace-like irrelevance?

Facebook is right in its assessment that Australian news content and the interactions it leads to with the social media site's users do not create much revenue, an academic at the University of Sydney's School of Computer Science says.

Both Google and Facebook have demonstrated to the Australian Government in no uncertain terms who exactly is calling the shots in the stoush over the news media code, but in diametrically different ways.

The Facebook pages of the Bureau of Meteorology and numerous government organisations are among those that cannot be viewed after the social media firm instituted a ban on Australian publishers and people from sharing or viewing Australian and international news content.

Social media giant Facebook will restrict publishers and people in Australia from sharing or viewing Australian and international news content, the company has said, adding that this is in response to the news media code that was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday night.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has struck a global three-year deal with Google in return for what the publisher has described as "significant payments".

Nine Entertainment, owner of a number of well-known newspapers which it bought from the now defunct Fairfax Media, has signed a letter of intent for a five-year deal with Google in return for payment of more than $30 million in cash per annum for use of its news content.

More Australian media deals with Google's News Showcase appear to be in the offing, aided by some government sweeteners, with a number of news publishers reported to be in discussions with the online advertising giant set to finalise agreements before the Australian Parliament passes the news media code into law.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has said he expects to see "some significant commercial deals" between Australian news publishers and digital platforms before the government votes on its news media code which is currently before Parliament.

The Federal Government appears to be trying to remove the need for passing the news media code legislation by encouraging, and helping, media companies to join up to Google News Showcase.

The Federal Government is likely to give Google and Facebook a major concession before it puts its news media code legislation up for a vote, with a clause that says the two companies do not have to cut deals with publishers under the law if they can convince them to sign up to their news products.