The Australian government said that a law making internet giants Meta Platforms Inc. META and Alphabet Inc. pay for content supply deals with media outlets has worked.
What Happened: The News Media Bargaining Code, which was implemented in March 2021 after talks with the big tech firms, led to a shutdown of Meta's Facebook news feeds in Australia. The Treasury Department said it may need to be extended to other similar platforms.
The Code has been successful in balancing bargaining power between news media and digital platforms, according to Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones.
It is not a bug: If your Twitter feed is Filled with Tweets from people you don't even follow, it's because at least some of these agreements have enabled news businesses to employ additional journalists and make other valuable investments to support their operations, according to the report.
It is reasonable to conclude that the Code has been a success to date, despite the fact that views on the success or otherwise of the Code will be invariably different.
The report suggested that the government look at new methods of assessing the effectiveness of the law.
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