AT THE SOURCE

Australia to Force Google and Facebook to Pay for News

Government announced new rules designed to force the internet giants to shell out.

Australia will force Google and Facebook to pay for news content in the country, the government announced Monday, as the coronavirus pandemic causes a collapse in advertising revenue. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it will release draft rules for the platforms to pay fair compensation for journalistic content siphoned from news media. Google and Facebook said they had been working to a previously agreed November deadline to negotiate a voluntary code. Google is taking in 47 percent of online advertising spending, excluding classified ads, in Australia, and Facebook is claiming 24 percent, the government said.