Followers | 680 |
Posts | 141246 |
Boards Moderated | 36 |
Alias Born | 03/10/2004 |
Wednesday, February 17, 2021 2:33:04 PM
By: Engadget | February 17, 2021
• Politicians are set to vote on a bill that would force tech giants to pay for content.
Facebook wasn't kidding around when it threatened to block Australians from viewing news on the social network. It's now preventing publishers and residents from posting or sharing news content. Facebook users elsewhere can't post or share links from Australian publishers either.
In recent months, Facebook rolled out a News tab in the US and the UK, and it's paying publishers in those countries for using their content. Although the company was planning to bring Facebook News to Australia and pay publishers more, it was "only prepared to do this with the right rules in place," according to William Easton, Facebook's managing director for Australia and New Zealand.
"This legislation sets a precedent where the government decides who enters into these news content agreements, and ultimately, how much the party that already receives value from the free service gets paid," Easton wrote in a blog post. "We will now prioritize investments to other countries, as part of our plans to invest in new licensing news programs and experiences."
The company is "using a combination of technologies to restrict news content" under the new policy and it will have measures in place to review any permitted content that it accidentally removed. Australian publishers can no longer share or post anything on their Facebook pages. Australian users won't see links or posts from publishers in other countries. The change won't affect other Facebook products or services in Australia.
The social network announced the updated policy as the country's parliament is set to vote on a bill that would force tech companies to pay publishers. Google has also pledged to shut down Search in the country if the legislation passes, though it struck a deal with News Corp to pay the conglomerate's outlets for their content, including in Australia.
Both Google and Facebook have reportedly taken issue with the legislation's arbitration clauses. If internet companies can't agree deals with publishers, it'd be up to an arbitration panel to determine the payment rates. This week, the government said it would modify the bill to clarify that publishers would be paid in lump sums rather than on a per-click basis. Reports also suggested that, like Google, Facebook was close to striking deals with publishers.
It appears that the policy shift won't affect Facebook's bottom line too much. "News makes up less than four percent of the content people see in their News Feed," Easton wrote. "Journalism is important to a democratic society, which is why we build dedicated, free tools to support news organizations around the world in innovating their content for online audiences."
Easton also noted that Facebook drove around 5.1 billion visits to Australian publishers' sites last year, worth around AU$407 million. Cutting off that distribution channel will undoubtedly hurt publishers, but it will also harm Facebook users in Australia who access news through the social network.
Read Full Story »»»
DiscoverGold
Information posted to this board is not meant to suggest any specific action, but to point out the technical signs that can help our readers make their own specific decisions. Caveat emptor!
• DiscoverGold
Recent META News
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/09/2024 10:21:35 PM
- Bain Capital in Talks to Acquire PowerSchool; Blackstone Emerges Victorious in Hipgnosis Bidding War, and More News • IH Market News • 05/09/2024 11:53:19 AM
- Meta Platforms Expands AI Ads, Apple Boosts iPhone Shipments, and More Highlights • IH Market News • 05/08/2024 12:27:48 PM
- Form 4 - Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/07/2024 10:06:32 PM
- Form 144 - Report of proposed sale of securities • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/07/2024 08:13:40 PM
- Tellor Tributes Skyrocket 104% in May, Marathon Digital Set to Enter S&P SmallCap 600, and More Crypto News • IH Market News • 05/07/2024 06:48:02 PM
- Form PX14A6G - Notice of exempt solicitation submitted by non-management • Edgar (US Regulatory) • 05/07/2024 03:33:49 PM
- Alphabet CEO’s Billion-Dollar Wealth, Microsoft’s $1.7B Indonesia Investment, and More News • IH Market News • 04/30/2024 11:58:40 AM
- U.S. Futures Climb in Pre-Market Trading Amid Tech Gains and Upcoming Inflation Data • IH Market News • 04/26/2024 11:47:25 AM
- U.S. Stocks Climb Well Off Worst Levels But Close Mostly Lower • IH Market News • 04/25/2024 08:40:00 PM
- Futures Pointing To Sharply Lower Open On Wall Street • IH Market News • 04/25/2024 01:09:21 PM
- U.S. Futures Drop in Pre-Market Trading as Tech Stocks Plunge After Meta Issues Gloomy Forecast • IH Market News • 04/25/2024 11:53:54 AM
- Southwest Shares Tumble 9.6% Post $231 Million 1Q Loss, AstraZeneca Surges on 19% Annual Increase, and More on Earnings • IH Market News • 04/25/2024 11:52:46 AM
- BHP Bids $38.8 Billion for Anglo American; Biden Unveils Historic Micron Technology Deal, and More News • IH Market News • 04/25/2024 11:48:40 AM
- U.S. Stocks Finish Lackluster Session Little Changed • IH Market News • 04/24/2024 08:33:00 PM
- Meta Reports First Quarter 2024 Results • PR Newswire (US) • 04/24/2024 08:05:00 PM
- U.S. Futures Display Mixed Results Amid Earnings, WTI and Brent Crude Prices Dip in June Futures Trading • IH Market News • 04/24/2024 11:31:20 AM
- Stocks Close On Firm Note For 2nd Straight Day On Earnings Hopes • IH Market News • 04/23/2024 09:00:38 PM
- Apple Loses Market Share in China, GM Surges in Pre-Market Following Upward Revisions for 2024 Projections, and More News • IH Market News • 04/23/2024 11:25:34 AM
- Paramount’s Shares Surge Following Sony and Apollo’s Joint Bid; ISS Backs Berkshire Hathaway Director Re-election, and More • IH Market News • 04/19/2024 11:31:22 AM
- Apple to Invest $250 Million in Singapore Expansion, Oracle Commits $8 Billion to Japan Infrastructure, and More News • IH Market News • 04/18/2024 11:11:52 AM
- United Shares Surge 5.3% in Q1 2024 Earnings Beat; Take-Two Cuts 5% of Workforce, and More News • IH Market News • 04/17/2024 10:57:39 AM
- Ericsson Soars with 66% Net Profit Growth; Live Nation Under Antitrust Scrutiny in US, and More News • IH Market News • 04/16/2024 11:18:19 AM
- Meta to temporarily close Threads in Turkey • IH Market News • 04/15/2024 06:49:59 PM
- Samsung Surpasses Apple in Q1 Smartphone Market; Salesforce in Talks to Acquire Informatica, and More News • IH Market News • 04/15/2024 11:06:48 AM
Avant Technologies Equipping AI-Managed Data Center with High Performance Computing Systems • AVAI • May 10, 2024 8:00 AM
VAYK Discloses Strategic Conversation on Potential Acquisition of $4 Million Home Service Business • VAYK • May 9, 2024 9:00 AM
Bantec's Howco Awarded $4.19 Million Dollar U.S. Department of Defense Contract • BANT • May 8, 2024 10:00 AM
Element79 Gold Corp Successfully Closes Maverick Springs Option Agreement • ELEM • May 8, 2024 9:05 AM
Kona Gold Beverages, Inc. Achieves April Revenues Exceeding $586,000 • KGKG • May 8, 2024 8:30 AM
Epazz plans to spin off Galaxy Batteries Inc. • EPAZ • May 8, 2024 7:05 AM