Australia passes landmark law requiring tech firms to pay for news

The government says that the law will ensure that news businesses "are fairly remunerated for the content they generate, helping to sustain public interest journalism in Australia"

Australia's parliament passed news media bargaining code after Facebook and Google, reached agreements to pay Australian news organisations to avoid being subjected to tough mandatory bargaining rules under the regulation.

  Australia's parliament adopted landmark legislation on Thursday requiring global digital platforms to pay for showing Australian news content on their platforms.

The law easily passed after Facebook and Google, the main targets of the legislation, reached agreements to pay Australian news organisations to avoid being subjected to tough mandatory bargaining rules under the regulation.

The government said the law, called the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code, would ensure that news businesses "are fairly remunerated for the content they generate, helping to sustain public interest journalism in Australia".