Australia passes law to make Google and Facebook pay for news

Australia has passed a world-first law aimed at making Google and Facebook pay for news content on their platforms.

The news code legislation had been fiercely opposed by the US tech giants.

Last week Facebook blocked all news content to Australians over the row, but reversed its decision this week after negotiations with the government.

Following those talks, the law passed with new amendments which make it possible for Facebook and Google not to be subject to the code.

However, both companies have now committed to paying lucrative sums to some big Australian publishers outside of the code. These deals have been widely viewed as a compromise by the tech giants.

Australia's law has been seen as a possible test case for similar regulation in other countries to get payment from digital platforms for news.