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Facebook’s parent company Meta has announced that they will not be renewing their contracts with Australian media companies in a bid to further move their platform away from being a source of news content.
“This is part of an ongoing effort to better align our investments to our products and services people value the most,” Facebook said in a statement.
The deals were a result of Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code, a law that required tech companies to pay Australian publishers for publishing news content on their website. The deal resulted in Facebook and Google paying up to $200 million dollars annually, notably for broadcasters ABC and Nine.
While Facebook says that they will not block news content on their platform as they did in 2021 amidst efforts to negotiate with the government, the non-renewal poses problems for broadcasters like ABC, who used the money coming from the contract to create some 60 regional jobs.
Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland said she was already in talks with ABC managing director David Anderson.
“He reiterated that this funding is used, amongst other things, to support those 60 journalists,” she said.
“It is important for him to ensure the ABC, as its managing director, that they are doing everything they can to ensure that they continue to provide a quality news service”.
Ms Rowland and Mr Jones struck Meta’s announcement, calling it a “dereliction of its commitment to the sustainability of Australian news media”.
“The decision removes a significant source of revenue for Australian news media businesses. Australian news publishers deserve fair compensation for the content they provide,” the ministers said in a statement.
