Facebook parent company Meta no longer wants to conclude new licensing fee agreements with publishers for traditional news in Australia, France and Germany. Australia's government is fuming.
The country's government must now decide whether to appoint its own intermediary to set Meta's fees as part of a new round of agreements. The company's contracts with Australian media outlets usually ran for three years and were due to expire in 2024. Google's media license agreements usually have a term of five years and expire in 2026. About 22 million of Australia's 26 million people are Facebook users.