Facebook Removes News Ban in Australia
2021-02-24
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1Facebook has removed a ban that prevented Australians from reading or sharing news stories on the social media service.
2The action came after Facebook reached a deal with the Australian government to resolve a dispute over proposed legislation.
3The legislation seeks to make big technology companies pay news organizations for use of their content.
4The dispute led Facebook last week to block Australians from reading or sharing news stories.
5But the dispute was settled after talks between Australia's Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg.
6"Facebook has refriended Australia, and Australian news will be restored," Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra after the agreement was reached.
7Frydenberg added that Australia had been a "proxy battle for the world" as other nations seek negotiations with technology companies on a range of issues involving news and content.
8The Australian legislation was designed to limit the negotiating power of Facebook and Google in talks with Australian news providers.
9For example, it aims to prevent technology companies from making take-it-or-leave-it payment offers to news businesses for their content.
10Frydenberg and Facebook confirmed that the two sides agreed to several amendments to the proposed legislation.
11One change would give technology companies one month's warning before they are officially covered under the law.
12That would give those involved more time to reach agreements before they are forced to enter enforceable arbitration agreements.
13Facebook said it was pleased with the amendments, which need to be added to the legislation currently before the parliament.
14William Easton heads Facebook's Australian and New Zealand area offices.
15He said the company is satisfied that the changes and guarantees under the deal meet its main concerns about the law.
16"As a result of these changes, we can now work to further our investment in public interest journalism," he said.
17Facebook's vice president for news partnerships, Campbell Brown, said the deal also permits the company to choose which publishers it will support, including small and local ones.
18Some experts see the deal as a major victory in international efforts to make Facebook and Google pay for the news stories they use.
19And, governments around the world have closely watched the case.
20But other experts see it differently.
21"Facebook has scored a big win," said independent British technology expert Richard Windsor, adding the compromises reached almost "guarantee that it will be business as usual from here on."
22Google had threatened to remove its search abilities from Australia because of the proposed legislation.
23But the search engine decided not to do so after reaching compromises with several companies.
24Google says it currently has deals with more than 50 Australian titles and more than 500 publishers worldwide.
25I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Facebook has removed a ban that prevented Australians from reading or sharing news stories on the social media service. 2The action came after Facebook reached a deal with the Australian government to resolve a dispute over proposed legislation. The legislation seeks to make big technology companies pay news organizations for use of their content. 3The dispute led Facebook last week to block Australians from reading or sharing news stories. But the dispute was settled after talks between Australia's Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg. 4"Facebook has refriended Australia, and Australian news will be restored," Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra after the agreement was reached. 5Frydenberg added that Australia had been a "proxy battle for the world" as other nations seek negotiations with technology companies on a range of issues involving news and content. 6The Australian legislation was designed to limit the negotiating power of Facebook and Google in talks with Australian news providers. For example, it aims to prevent technology companies from making take-it-or-leave-it payment offers to news businesses for their content. 7Frydenberg and Facebook confirmed that the two sides agreed to several amendments to the proposed legislation. One change would give technology companies one month's warning before they are officially covered under the law. That would give those involved more time to reach agreements before they are forced to enter enforceable arbitration agreements. 8Facebook said it was pleased with the amendments, which need to be added to the legislation currently before the parliament. 9William Easton heads Facebook's Australian and New Zealand area offices. He said the company is satisfied that the changes and guarantees under the deal meet its main concerns about the law. 10"As a result of these changes, we can now work to further our investment in public interest journalism," he said. 11Facebook's vice president for news partnerships, Campbell Brown, said the deal also permits the company to choose which publishers it will support, including small and local ones. 12Some experts see the deal as a major victory in international efforts to make Facebook and Google pay for the news stories they use. And, governments around the world have closely watched the case. 13But other experts see it differently. "Facebook has scored a big win," said independent British technology expert Richard Windsor, adding the compromises reached almost "guarantee that it will be business as usual from here on." 14Google had threatened to remove its search abilities from Australia because of the proposed legislation. But the search engine decided not to do so after reaching compromises with several companies. Google says it currently has deals with more than 50 Australian titles and more than 500 publishers worldwide. 15I'm Bryan Lynn. 16The Associated Press and Reuters reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 17We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 18________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20content - n. the information presented in different forms or media or on the internet 21restore - v. to make something exist again 22proxy - n. a person or organization acting in behalf of another 23arbitration - n. the process of solving an argument between two parties by helping them agree to an acceptable solution 24title - n. the name of a book, film, newspaper, etc.