Australian government said a law making internet giants Meta Platforms Inc. META and Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL pay for content supply deals with media outlets has largely worked.
What Happened: The News Media Bargaining Code, which was implemented in March 2021 after talks with the big tech firms, led to a brief shutdown of Meta's Facebook news feeds in Australia. It may need to be extended to other similar platforms, the Treasury Department said in a report, published on Thursday.
The review said that since the law’s implementation, the tech giants had inked over 30 deals with media houses, compensating them for the content that generated clicks and advertising dollars.
“The review shows the Code has been successful balancing bargaining power between news media and digital platforms,” said Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones.
“At least some of these agreements have enabled news businesses to, in particular, employ additional journalists and make other valuable investments to assist their operations,” the report said.
“While views on the success or otherwise of the Code will invariably differ, we consider it is reasonable to conclude that the Code has been a success to date,” it added.
The report further recommended that the government consider new methods of assessing the administration and effectiveness of the law.
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