Sydney: Three Australian lifestyle publishers say Facebook Inc.
uses their article about news services that are just launched after refusing to negotiate license offers, and that the country’s new new internet law failed to protect them.
Australia this year issued laws that pressed Facebook and Alphabet Inc.
Google to sign contracts with several largest news companies in the country by threatening government intervention.
Disputes highlight the possibility of deficiency in controversial law.
While most Australia’s main media companies have signed a contract, several smaller outlets say that the law has not stopped the clip of their content generator and advertising revenue for Facebook without compensation.
Media Broadsheet, urban list, and concrete playgrounds, websites that publish entertainment news, reviews and lists, say that after the law was passed in February they approached the social media giant about payment for their content.
Facebook knocks them back, calling their content is not suitable for the Facebook news platform and recommend that they apply for the grant offer from $ 15 million ($ 11 million) for the Australian regional and digital room, the three companies told Reuters in the call together.
“They say that to me, ‘Oh well, you won’t be put in the news tab and that’s what we paid for’,” said Nick Shelton, founder of broadsheet media.
“What surprised us, we woke up one morning last week and all of our content was there.” Facebook news went directly in Australia on 4.
Facebook declined to comment directly on three companies but said it created value for publishers by sending viewers to their sites.
Under the law, Facebook and Google must negotiate payment transactions with outlets or arbitrators appointed by the government will do it for them, but the publisher must first prove the main goal is to produce news and has been disqualified unfairly.
The three publishers said they wanted Facebook to come to the table to speak but if it refused they could look for government intervention.
“If in the end we are not included in the commercial agreement, they really need a stick,” Shelton said.
“We are three main examples of publishers and media businesses that must be included as part of this framework.” To be borne by law, the publisher must register as a news provider with Australian Communication and Media Authority “based on criteria including the ‘core news’ level (basically the journalism of public interest) they produce”, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) (ACCC), which composes the law, said in the email.
The urban list has been registered in the list.
Broadsheet and concrete playground have not registered, say they want to stay for a personal agreement.
Tama Leaver, a professor of internet studies at the University of Curtin Australia, said that while Facebook did not violate the law because the problem was not before the arbitration, the treatment of the three publishers was “very bad practice, and less profitable, the smaller players in the news business arena”.
In a separate dispute, ACCCC said he would see a claim by the conversation, which published comments on current affairs by academics, that Facebook has refused to negotiate a license agreement.
Conversation has secured an agreement with Google.