Media companies have complained for years that they are not fairly compensated for articles and other content that generate ad revenue for platforms like Google and Facebook, complaints that tech companies have largely ignored. The question is how far other governments will go in compelling tech platforms to pay for news. Josh Frydenberg, who as federal treasurer would have enormous discretion over the new legislation, has media ties of his own. It would apply at first only to Facebook and Google, although other digital platforms could be added. With the writing on the wall, Google has suddenly become more amenable to compromise.

Source: bd News24 February 17, 2021 13:18 UTC