Consequently, Facebook launched its Facebook’s Journalism Project, while Google responded with Google’s News Initiative. Nevertheless, the moves were described as desperate with no impact on the news publishing industry.
As a result, Australian lawmakers proposed a law that would be fair for Facebook, Google, and news publishers alike. Additionally, the law forces the tech giants of announcing algorithms changes 28 days ahead of the application. The law obliges Facebook and Google to negotiate prices with news publishers within a three months period, or else, the government will interfere to negotiate on behalf of them.
However, Facebook said in a blog post that the Australian lawmaker’s proposed law “fundamentally misunderstands” its relationship with publishers. The company argued that news content brought Australian publishers in 2020 around $315 million.
In conclusion, Google didn’t accept the law at first. The search engine giant allegedly hid Australian news sites from search results in response to the proposed law in January. Nevertheless, Google said that it is now negotiating with Australian media companies to reach an agreement.
