Australia unveiled a bill on Friday to compel Google and Facebook to pay the media for their content in a "world leader" initiative that is sure to spark a confrontation with digital giants.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced the "mandatory code of conduct" to govern relations between the news industry and technology firms after 18 months of negotiations that failed to unite the two sides.
In addition to paying for content, the code covers topics such as access to user data, transparency of algorithms and ranking of content in news sources and search results on platforms.
"Nothing less than the future of the Australian media landscape is at stake with these changes," he said at a press conference.
Frydenberg said legislation implementing the code will be introduced in parliament in the coming weeks and will include "substantial penalties" that could cost tech companies hundreds of millions of dollars.
While the code could apply to any digital platform that uses Australian news content, Frydenberg said it would initially focus on Facebook and Google, two of the richest and most powerful companies in the world.
Australia's initiative has been closely watched across the globe as media outlets around the world have suffered in an increasingly digital economy where ad revenue is overwhelmingly captured by Facebook, Google, and other big tech companies. .
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