US asks Australia to scrap proposed laws to make Facebook, Google pay for news

The U.S. government has asked Australia to scrap proposed laws that will make it the first country in the world to force Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google to pay for news sourced from local media outlets.
In a submission asking the government to “suspend” the plans, assistant U.S. trade representatives Daniel Bahar and Karl Ehlers, suggested Australia instead “further study the markets, and if appropriate, develop a voluntary code.”
Under the law, which has broad political support and is currently before a senate committee, Google and Facebook will be subject to mandatory price arbitration if a commercial agreement on payments to Australian media cannot be reached.
“The U.S. Government is concerned that an attempt, through legislation, to regulate the competitive positions of specific players … to the clear detriment of two U.S. firms, may result in harmful outcomes,” said in the document, under the letterhead of the Executive Office of the President.