Oz panel OKs Google-FB ‘pay for news’ bill; House debate to start next week

CANBERRA: Australia’s parliament will next week debate making Google and Facebook pay for news after a Senate committee on Friday recommended no changes to drafts of the world’s first such laws.

The Senate Economics Legislation Committee has been scrutinising the bill since it was introduced in parliament in December. The senators rejected Facebook and Google’s arguments that the so-called media bargaining code, which would force the digital giants to negotiate payment to Australian news media for the news content to which the platforms link, was unworkable. But the committee also recognised that the legislation carried risks and should be reviewed after a year.