FACEBOOK, NEWS CORP. REACH MEDIA DEAL IN AUSTRALIA

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. said it has reached a three-year deal with Facebook in Australia which will see the social media giant paying for the media company's content, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

The global media company, headquartered in New York, said in a Monday statement it "reached a multi-year agreement to provide access to trusted news and information to millions of Facebook users in Australia through its Facebook News product."

The Australian national newspaper and the news.com.au news site are among the titles involved in the deal, which also includes major metropolitan mastheads and regional and community publications.

The announcement comes after Facebook agreed last month to support publishers of its choosing after a tough battle with the Australian government about paying for content.

The row had briefly prompted Facebook to ban Australian news content from its platform.

"News Corp [and] Facebook have reached a 3-year 'landmark' deal in Aus which will see payment for content," Treasurer Josh Frydenberg tweeted on Tuesday.

"This follows the passage of the Morrison Govt’s world-leading news media bargaining code [and] the recent announcement between Seven West Media [and] Facebook," he added linking to the News Corp statement.

News Corp has struck deals with Facebook, Google and Apple "to provide access to journalism and related content for a potential audience of millions around the world," the media company said in the statement.

"The agreement with Facebook is a landmark in transforming the terms of trade for journalism and will have a material and meaningful impact on our Australian news businesses," News Corp. Chief Executive Robert Thomson said.

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