Australia PM Scott Morrison calls PM Modi for support in fight against Facebook

New Delhi: Australia has reached out to India among several countries, including Canada, France and the UK, in a move to stitch a global coalition against tech giants Google and Facebook amid a faceoff over compensation for sharing news content from media companies on their platforms.

The matter figured in a phone call between Morrison and Modi on Thursday, amid worldwide outrage over Facebook blacking out news and media content for its users in Australia and barring them from sharing news articles.

Morrison said in a tweet on Friday that he and his “good friend” Modi had “discussed progress of our [Australia’s] media platform bill” but didn’t give details. He said India and Australia, as comprehensive strategic partners, can work together on common challenges such as Covid-19, the circular economy and an open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

Morrison also told the media in Sydney on Friday that the law figured in his call with Modi. “There’s a lot of interest in it. People are looking at what Australia doing,” he said.

Under the proposed law — News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code Bill 2020 — Australia seeks to mandate a bargaining code that aims to force Google and Facebook to compensate media companies for using their content. The legislation is being closely watched the world over, given that it sets a precedent in regulating social media across geographies.

While Google has agreed to pay news organisations in Australia, Facebook has decided to black out news content from the country on its social networking platform.

Morrison’s raising of the issue with Modi on Thursday was the “first step of a plan to mobilise global support to stop Facebook ‘bullying’ elected governments”, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Morrison’s government is also preparing for a long-drawn battle with the tech giant if needed, the report said.

• Australia PM
• PM Modi
• Scott Morrison
• Facebook