Facebook has agreed to pay Rupert Murdoch's News Corp Australia for journalism from its local mastheads.

The deal has been secured just weeks after Australia passed a controversial world-first law aimed at making tech platforms pay for news content.

News Corp has not disclosed the value of the three-year contract in Australia. Last month, it clinched a global deal with Google.

Mr Murdoch's media empire began with his Australian newspapers.

The deal covers all of News Corp's content in the country - which is a significant amount.

News Corp Australia controls about 70% of newspaper circulation in Australia with mastheads including The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and The Herald Sun. It also owns news.com.au.

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It also owns the Fox News-modelled conservative TV network Sky News Australia, which has grown to become the most-shared Australian news brand on Facebook.

News Corp already has a different deal with Facebook for its US media titles. It involves the platform paying for stories to include in its Facebook News tab - a product not available in Australia.

The Australian deal is far more broad - it covers all News Corp Australia content shared on Facebook.

Source: BBC News

BDST: 1240 HRS, MAR 16, 2021
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