Facebook's Small Sacrifice to Australia Helps Keep Empire Intact
- World-first law forces digital giants to pay publishers
- Social network’s abrupt news blackout saw legislation softened
Photographer: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
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Australia on Thursday passed a world-first law aimed at forcing Google and Facebook Inc. to pay for news. But after a forceful intervention from the world’s biggest social network, the reality is Silicon Valley’s titans are paying a small price for cementing their influence over the media industry.