Australia’s competition regulator has declared victory in a three-year battle to make Facebook and Google pay for news after the internet groups signed deals with publishers that could be worth about A$200m a year.
Rod Sims, chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, told the Financial Times on Tuesday the country’s world-first news media bargaining code had forced big technology platforms to the negotiating table to agree deals with publishers.
“We are on track for deals all around. It’s been a big success,” Sims said in an interview. “We are just about there and the media companies are happy — and that’s the key point.”