Facebook to restore Australia news pages, says government

The social media giant will end its news blackout in Australia after the government agreed to make changes to a new media law, officials said.

Facebook will restore Australian news pages in the next few days after Canberra agreed to amend the country's media bargaining legislation, the government announced on Tuesday.

"The government has been advised by Facebook that it intends to restore Australian news pages in the coming days," a statement from Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said, ABC news reported.

Australia and Facebook have locked horns for over a week after the Australian government pushed ahead with the code that would force the social media platform to pay media companies for news content.

"As a result of these changes, we can now work to further our investment in public interest journalism, and restore news on Facebook for Australians in the coming days," Will Easton, managing director of Facebook Australia said.

Under the concession, Australia will offer four amendments including to the mechanism for final offer arbitration.(AFP, Reuters)