ABC News: Dan Cox
)News Corp and Facebook have struck new pay deals for news in Australia, three weeks after the federal government passed laws that could force digital giants to help cover the costs of journalism.
News Corp said it had reached a multi-year agreement with Facebook that covered its major Australian mastheads, including The Australian, Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun, as well as regional publications.
The pay deal follows a similar agreement struck with Google last month.
Sky News Australia, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, also reached a new agreement that extended on an existing Facebook agreement, a News Corp statement said.
The deal follows an agreement reached in 2019 in which News Corp US publications receive payment for access to stories through Facebook News.
"The agreement with Facebook is a landmark in transforming the terms of trade for journalism, and will have a material and meaningful impact on our Australian news businesses," News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson said.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg welcomed the deal, but warned Facebook and Google could still be designated under the code.
"The government expects all parties to continue to work constructively towards reaching commercial agreements in the spirit of collaboration and good faith encouraged by the code," he said via a statement.
"The Treasurer will consider whether to designate Facebook and Google based on the progress they have made towards making a significant contribution to Australian public interest journalism and with respect to whether there is a significant bargaining power imbalance with Australian news media businesses."
'Taking a principled stand for publishers'
Mr Thomson thanked the federal government for "taking a principled stand for publishers" through its laws that could force Facebook and Google to pay for news content accessed through their platforms if the two gateways to the internet fail to strike fair deals.
It comes less than a month after Facebook walked back its block on Australian users sharing news on its site after the government agreed to make amendments to the media bargaining laws.
News Corp now has pay deals with Facebook, Google and Apple to provide access to journalism.
Google was quicker than Facebook to sign deals with Australian news businesses as the digital platform laws made their way through parliamentary processes.
Seven West Media is the only other major Australian media organisation to announce a pay deal with Facebook.
Facebook announced preliminary pay deals with independent news organisations Private Media, Schwartz Media and Solstice Media a day after the laws were passed by Parliament last month.
AP/ABC
