Facebook will match Googles $1 billion news investment after Australia showdown

Facebook said it plans to invest an additional $1 billion in the news industry over the next three years as a sign of commitment to journalism, following the company’s unprecedented showdown with the government of Australia that involved briefly disabling the ability to read and share news for Australian Facebook users and publishers. The announcement was made as part of a blog post from global policy chief Nick Clegg published on Wednesday.

“Facebook is more than willing to partner with news publishers. We absolutely recognize quality journalism is at the heart of how open societies function — informing and empowering citizens and holding the powerful to account,” Clegg writes. “That’s why we’ve invested $600 million since 2018 to...

Continue reading…