Facebook Inc CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week called Australian lawmakers to discuss rules that would make Internet giants pay news outlets for content, but failed to persuade them to change policy, the country’s treasurer said yesterday.
Zuckerberg “reached out to talk about the code and the impact on Facebook” and a constructive discussion followed among the social media billionaire, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Australian Minister for Communications Paul Fletcher.
“No, Mark Zuckerberg didn’t convince me to back down if that’s what you’re asking,” Frydenberg told the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC), without giving further details of the meeting.
Photo: AFP
A Facebook spokeswoman in Australia said the company’s executives regularly meet with government stakeholders on a range of topics.
Australia intends to introduce a law that would force Facebook, the world’s largest social media platform, and Internet search giant Google Inc to negotiate payments to media companies whose content drives traffic to their Web site. If the parties cannot agree on payments, a government-appointed arbitrator would set the fees for them.
Facebook and Google oppose the “news media bargaining code” and have mounted public campaigns against it. Google has threatened to withdraw its search engine from Australia, while Facebook has warned it would stop Australians sharing news content on its site if the laws go ahead.
At a Senate inquiry into the planned law last month, local heads of both companies outlined their opposition to the plans, which would be among the toughest in the world in dealing with the financial impact of global Internet companies on domestic media, which have been hit by shrinking advertising revenue.
“We’re told that if we go ahead with this, we’re going to break the Internet,” Frydenberg said on ABC.
“What I do know is that media businesses should be paid for content,” he added.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
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