Australia to Make Big Tech Pay for News

Australia’s government will present legislation in parliament on Wednesday that would make Facebook and Google pay for journalistic content on their platforms.

“This is a huge reform. This is a world first. And the world is watching what happens here in Australia,” said Australia’s Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says a committee will analyze the legislation. Then lawmakers will vote to put it into law next year.

“This is comprehensive legislation that has gone further than any comparable jurisdiction in the world,” said Frydenberg.

The legislation differs from July’s draft proposals after consultation with social media platforms and Australian media organizations.

In addition, the revised proposal has included Australia’s state media, which will be treated like any other commercial news provider.

“Our legislation will help ensure that the rules of the digital world mirror the rules of the physical world. That’s been our intention all along,” said Frydenberg.

Facebook has warned it might block Australian news content rather than pay for it.

Google says the proposed law would make Google searches dramatically worse and put free services at risk.

Frydenberg said Google was taking 53 percent of online advertising dollars and Facebook took a 23 percent share.

In order to pass the bill into law, the conservative government will need support from the opposition Labor Party.