CANBERRA: Australia should force Meta Platforms to pay news companies for content that appears on Facebook and impose broader regulation on social media firms, a senior News Corp. executive said.
Meta said in March it would stop paying Australian news publishers for content. The government is now considering whether to apply a 2021 law that would force it to do so.
“Meta must be designated under the Media Bargaining Code and challenged to negotiate in good faith,” News Corp. Australia executive chairman Michael Miller said in a speech in Canberra, using the jargon of the 2021 legislation.
“We had a deal — and they walked away. I believe they have an obligation to renew the agreements, and honor our laws,” he said.
“We can’t let ourselves be bullied.”
Asked for comment, Meta referred Reuters to a company blog post that said interest in news was declining on its platforms and cast those platforms as free distribution channels that media companies could use to expand their audiences.
Publishers argue that Facebook and other Internet giants profit unfairly from advertising revenue when links to news articles appear on their platforms.
Meta struck payment deals with Australian media firms in 2021, most of which lapse this year.
If the government tries to enforce the 2021 law, Meta could block users from reposting news articles as it did briefly in Australia in 2021 and has done since 2023 in Canada, which has similar laws and where academics have noted an increased spread of misinformation as a result.
Meta has been reducing its promotion of news and political content to drive traffic and has said it will discontinue a tab on Facebook promoting news in Australia.
In his speech, Miller also decried the impact of social media on mental health and its amplification of scams and social ills such as misogyny.
He proposed a regulatory framework for tech firms such as Meta, Tik Tok and X, formerly known as Twitter, that he said would protect Australians.
This would include making companies liable for all content on their platforms, competition laws for digital advertising, better handling of consumer complaints and donations to mental health programs.
Companies that do not abide by these rules should be barred from the Australian market, he said.
A spokesperson for Meta said: “The suggestion that Meta doesn’t respect Australian laws or community standards is preposterous.”
The company has restricted access to content in line with Australian laws, worked with law enforcement to prevent real world harm and trained thousands of young Australians in online safety, they said.
Australia should force Meta to pay for news, News Corp. executive says
https://arab.news/gnr9y
Australia should force Meta to pay for news, News Corp. executive says
- Meta said in March it would stop paying Australian news publishers for content
- Australian government now considering whether to apply a 2021 law that would force it to do so
MenaML hosts 2026 Winter School in Saudi Arabia to boost AI education, collaboration in region
- Second edition of Winter School will be hosted in partnership with KAUST
DUBAI: The Middle East and North Africa Machine Learning Winter School will host its second edition in Saudi Arabia this year, in partnership with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
The non-profit held its inaugural edition in Doha last year in partnership with the Qatar Computing Research Institute.
The initiative began when like-minded individuals from Google DeepMind and QCRI came together to launch a platform connecting a “community of top-tier AI practitioners with a shared interest in shaping the future of the MENA region,” Sami Alabed, a research scientist at Google DeepMind and one of the co-founders of MenaML, told Arab News.
Along with Alabed, the core team includes Maria Abi Raad and Amal Rannen-Triki from Google DeepMind, as well as Safa Messaoud and Yazan Boshmaf from QCRI.
Messaoud said that the school has three goals: building local talent in artificial intelligence, enhancing employability and connection, and reversing brain drain while fostering regional opportunity.
AI has dominated boardrooms and courtrooms alike globally, but “AI research and education in MENA are currently in a nascent, yet booming, stage,” she added.
Launched at a pivotal moment for the region, the initiative was timed to ensure “regional representation in the global AI story while cultivating AI models that are culturally aligned,” said Rannen-Triki.
The school’s vision is to cultivate researchers capable of developing “sophisticated, culturally aligned AI models” that reflect the region’s values and linguistic and cultural diversity, said Messaoud.
This approach, she added, enables the region to contribute meaningfully to the global AI ecosystem while ensuring that AI technologies remain locally relevant and ethically grounded.
MenaML aims to host its annual program in a different city each year, partnering with reputable institutions in each host location.
“Innovation does not happen in silos; breakthroughs are born from collaboration that extends beyond borders and lab lines,” said Alabed.
“Bringing together frontier labs to share their knowledge echoes this message, where each partner brings a unique viewpoint,” he added.
This year, MenaML has partnered with KAUST, which “offers deep dives into specialized areas critical to the region, blending collaborative spaces with self-learning and placement programs,” said Abi Raad.
The program, developed in partnership with KAUST, brings together speakers from 16 institutions and focuses on four key areas: AI and society, AI and sciences, AI development, and regional initiatives.
“These themes align with the scientific priorities and research excellence pillars of KAUST as well as the needs of regional industries seeking to deploy AI safely and effectively,” said Bernard Ghanem, professor of electrical and computer engineering and computer science at KAUST and director of the Center of Excellence in Generative AI.
The program will also highlight efficiency in AI systems, with the overall goal of equipping “participants with the conceptual and practical understanding needed to contribute meaningfully to next-generation AI research and development,” he told Arab News.
For KAUST, hosting the MenaML Winter School aligns with Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a global hub for AI research under Vision 2030.
By attracting top researchers, industry partners, and young talent to the Kingdom, it helps cement the Kingdom’s position as a center for AI excellence, Ghanem said.
It also aligns closely with Vision 2030’s “goals of building human capital, fostering innovation, and developing a knowledge-based economy” and “contributes to the long-term development of a world-leading AI ecosystem in Saudi Arabia,” he added.
Although the program accepts students from around the world, participants must demonstrate a connection to the MENA region, Abi Raad said.
The goal is to build bridges between those who may have left the region and those who remain, enabling them to start conversations and collaborate, she added.
A certain percentage of spots is reserved for participants from the host country, while a small percentage is allocated to fully international students with no regional ties, with the objective of offering them a glimpse into the regional AI ecosystem.
Looking ahead, MenaML envisions growing from an annual event into a sustainable, central pillar of the regional AI ecosystem, inspired by the growth trajectory of global movements like TED or the Deep Learning Indaba, a sister organization supporting AI research and education in Africa.
Boshmaf said MenaML’s long-term ambition is to evolve beyond its flagship event into a broader movement, anchored by local MenaMLx chapters across the region.
Over time, the initiative aims to play a central role in strengthening the regional AI ecosystem by working with governments and the private sector to support workforce development, AI governance and safety education, and collaborative research, while raising the region’s global visibility through its talent network and international partnerships.
He added: “If TED is the global stage for ‘ideas worth spreading,’ MenaML is to be the regional stage for ‘AI ideas worth building.’”
The MenaML Winter School will run from Jan. 24 to 29 at KAUST in Saudi Arabia.
