Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has agreed with his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison to coordinate efforts in affirming that digital giants will pay publishers for content posted on their platforms. According to an official statement, the two PMs discussed on Monday a series of topics, including the need to oversee social media platforms.
Canada, Australia's Regulation of Online Platforms
According to Ottawa's statement, the two prime ministers discussed on February 22 the necessity to address online harm and have social media companies pay for journalism. The growing coordination between Canada and Australia in overseeing online platforms comes as Facebook reversed the news ban it introduced the previous week that prevented Australians from viewing and sharing news on its website.
The two countries are banding together to ensure tech giants' revenues are shared more fairly with the media and creators. According to an announcement from Facebook on Tuesday, the company would lift the ban as it negotiated with the Australian government on proposed legislation to order digital giants to pay for journalism.
According to a statement from the Canadian Prime Minister's office, "The prime ministers noted the growing cooperation between Canada and Australia on the regulation of online platforms. They agreed to continue coordinating efforts to address online harm and ensure the revenues of web giants are shared more fairly with creators and media," reported The Times of India.
The conversation was held on Monday. It came after Facebook barred Australian users from accessing news content on its website in response to a regulatory bill being considered in Australia's Parliament.
The ban had effectively suspended news outlets from uploading content on the social media platform. It came after the News Media Bargaining Code passed both houses of parliament. The Bargaining Code is a bill that develops a framework for news companies to deal with a fair remuneration for their content posted on digital platforms, particularly on Facebook or Google.
The statement from Ottawa marks Canada's intent to act in accordance with Australia's footsteps. It also comes after Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault vowed the previous week to introduce legislation that would command tech giants to pay Canadian media companies for their content.
Facebook triggered alarm with its abrupt decision the previous week to bar news on its platform throughout Australia. This was after the House of Representatives passed the draft law, reported Canadian Manufacturing.
On Tuesday, the social media giant declared that it would remove the news ban following the move igniting outrage in Australia and the global scene.
According to Facebook Vice President Campbell Brown in a statement, "After further discussions with the Australian government, we have come to an agreement that will allow us to support the publishers we choose to, including small and local publishers," Campbell said. "Going forward, the government has clarified we will retain the ability to decide if news appears on Facebook so that we won't automatically be subject to a forced negotiation," reported The Epoch Times.
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