"Facebook is more than willing to partner with news publishers," Mr. Clegg said after Facebook restored news links as part of a compromise with Australian officials. Facebook and Google have both devoted money to supporting journalism in the past, citing its critical role in democracies. Mr. Clegg defended the California titan in a blog post titled "The Real Story of What Happened With News on Facebook in Australia." Also read: Australia closer to passing watershed Google, Facebook lawsMr. Clegg contended in his post that at the heart of the controversy is a misunderstanding about the relationship between Facebook and news publishers. Facebook drove some 5.1 such "free referrals" to Australian news publishers last year, worth an estimated 407 million Australian dollars, according to Mr. Clegg.

Source: The Hindu February 24, 2021 20:36 UTC