Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in his latest talks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, discussed the nation’s latest media policy against technology giants like Facebook and proposed a partnership with India, reports Economic Times.
The Australian Government has been engaged in discussions with technology behemoths like Facebook and Google, who control the biggest social media platforms, to legally make them pay local news outlets for using their content.
Australia has pioneered a legislative code titled News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code Bill 2020, which Facebook has not welcomed.
Great to talk to my good friend PM @narendramodi again. As Comprehensive Strategic Partners, we can work together on common challenges incl #COVID19, the circular economy, oceans & an open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific. We also discussed progress of our media platform bill. https://t.co/fjAeLecCYA
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) February 19, 2021
Recently, Facebook had threatened to block Australian publishers and individuals from sharing news stories on its platform because it did not agree with the law that was passed, as the legislation allowed media organizations to demand compensation for Facebook’s use of their stories.
Immediately the Australian PM Morrison called the threat made by Facebook ‘arrogant’ and ‘disappointing’ and pushed that Facebook must revoke the move.
As well as India, Australia is also holding talks with Canada, and, as per reports, Australia will try to further extend this partnership and build consensus on the issue with other countries.
Italy’s competition watchdog, the Italian Competition and Market Authority, has only recently fined Facebook €7 million (approximately $8.45 million) for failing to comply with a previous order related to improper use of its subscribers’ data.
In related news, tech giant Google, which had earlier threatened to pull its search engine offerings from Australia, has now come to a realisation that the move could be potentially disastrous and has now softened its stance. Google has reportedly brokered several deals with large media companies like Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya had written to the Centre in September last year, urging the government regulate big tech companies and review the review the IT Intermediary Guidelines Rules. The MP from Karnataka had also raised he issue during zero hour in Parliament last month.
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