Australia forces big tech to pay media for news

Australia plans to force Facebook and Google to pay media companies for the use of their news content or face fines of up to £5.4million.

The move comes after talks to establish a voluntary deal, in which the tech giants would share the revenue they make from advertising tied to news content, failed. Josh Frydenberg, the national treasurer, said it was about “a fair go for Australian news media businesses”, but a spokesman for Google said the plan was “concerning”.