Facebook Secures News Deal in Australia

[DominicJ]

Both sides adjusted their positions and have come to an agreement that will see news content return to Facebook in Australia and a payment system with individual news publishers.

Facebook gets an extension to negotiate individual deals with news content providers... some talk about a cost per click model.

[abc.net.au...]

[engine]

Thanks DominicJ, and welcome to WebmasterWorld.

Why this coukd not have been worked through previously is not clear. Probaby intransigence on both sides, imho.

[DominicJ]

News providers got to observe an average of 13% lower traffic when there were no referrals from Facebook.

& politicians got to say "I spoke with Mark Zuckerberg and..."

Facebook got an extensions, a concession on one of the terms, & still maintain a strong bargaining position... and global news coverage.

So looks like Facebook's strategy played out well for them.

Thanks engine, returning member, originally joined ~ 2002.

[engine]

@DominicJ in that case, welcome back!

Looks like each side wants to claim a win. lol

This whole thing could play out in each and every country. Some countries probably don't care as much as Australia, but what's clear is users lose.

Many people get their news via FB. Personally, I don't, so i wouldn't miss it, but that's not to mean others won't.

It was all more straightforward when we got our news via the newspaper from the newstand, or via the radio. Now, potentially, all news is aggregated via one organisation, such as FB, It has become the newspaper seller, but neither writes about the news the news, nor charges users directly to access the news, yet it makes money because people have gone to the newspaper seller to read all the newspapers for free without buying any.

Earlier story Facebook Moves to Stop Australians Sharing News Ahead of New "Code" [webmasterworld.com]

[DominicJ]

Didn't see this angle coming: a perspective on why Facebook has a stronger bargaining position than Google...

Google has competitors, Facebook doesn't...
[abc.net.au...]

[engine]

Facebook has its say on the "real story" as it calls it.

The internet needs new rules that work for everyone, not just for big media corporations. By updating internet regulation, we can preserve what’s best about it — the freedom of people to express themselves and entrepreneurs to build new things. New rules only work if they benefit more people, not protect the interests of a few.

[about.fb.com...]

[engine]

The Bill has now passed into law, and is the first of its kind.

[bbc.co.uk...]

[martinibuster]

Northern California is still asleep. What do you think Google and Facebook's response will be?