Meta to stop paying Australian news media

Facebook News will not renew its agreements with news publishers in Australia. (document)

Sydney:

Facebook parent company Meta announced on Friday it would no longer pay Australian media companies for news, prompting the government to warn the company had “failed” on past promises.

Meta has expanded its global retreat from news content, saying it will remove the Facebook News tab in Australia and will not renew deals with news publishers worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

“People don’t come to Facebook for news and political content,” the company said in explaining the move.

The decision had been in the works but would be a blow to Australian news outlets already struggling to stay afloat.

Meta had previously announced that it would not renew content agreements with news publishers in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany.

The government is forcing the social media giant to pay for news, hoping to level the media playing field and support struggling news companies.

Revenues for media companies around the world have been declining for years, with advertisers flocking to popular digital platforms like Google and Facebook to reach consumers.

Three years ago, Meta’s promise to pay news media prompted the Australian government to water down legislation governing online platforms and their relationships with news media.

On Friday, Communications Minister Michel Rowland expressed anger at Meta’s statement and suggested the government might take retaliatory measures.

“Meta’s decision to no longer pay for news content in multiple jurisdictions demonstrates a breach of its commitment to the sustainability of Australian news media,” Rowland said.

“This decision eliminates an important revenue stream for Australian news media businesses. Australian news publishers should be fairly compensated for the content they provide.”

Rowland said the government would resolve the issue “through all available options” in consultation with the country’s communications regulator.

She said the government was “committed to promoting a strong, sustainable and diverse media sector as it is vital to our democracy and social cohesion”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)