Facebook agrees to restore Australian news pages

Australia and Facebook have been in a standoff for more than a week over a draft law that will force tech giants to pay for news.

Facebook has agreed to restore Australian news pages after the government offered amendments to legislation that would force tech giants to pay for media content displayed on their platforms. The deal on Tuesday came amid a standoff that lasted more than a week between the Australian government and the social media group over the so-called Media Bargaining Code. Facebook and Google strongly opposed the draft Australian legislation, which will force the tech giants to reach commercial deals with Australian publishers or face compulsory arbitration. The bill passed the House of Representatives last Wednesday, prompting Facebook to block its 13 million Australian users from accessing and sharing all news on its platform.