Facebook News Launches In Germany, Without Axel Springer

Facebook has launched its Facebook News scheme in Germany, but without a major media giant that publishes the country’s most popular daily newspaper Bild.

Axel Springer is the publishing house behind many of Europe’s best-selling magazines and newspapers. In 2014 it heavily criticised Google and accused the firm of creating an “electronic superstate”, as well as operating a protection racket and a ‘global network monopoly‘ in the digital market.

Now the media group has refused to join Facebook News, due to the “inappropriately low remuneration” offered for journalistic content, CNN reported.

Germany launch

Facebook announced on Monday that Facebook News will launch in Germany in May.

Facebook News was first launched in the United States last year, and in January this year the UK became the second country in the world to gain Facebook News deals were signed with The Guardian, Telegraph Media Group, Financial Times, Daily Mail Group, Sky News and many more, including local, regional and lifestyle publishers.

Now with the launch of Facebook News in Germany in May, it will include weekly newspapers such as Der Spiegel and Die Zeit, as well as daily newspapers such as the Handelsblatt and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

But it will not include the national newspaper Die Welt and best-selling tabloid Bild, after Axel Springer, said it won’t contribute to Facebook News because of the financial terms on offer.

“We consider the efforts of several platforms to become news brands themselves while at the same time compensating some publishers with inappropriately low remuneration for their content as problematic,” a spokesperson for Axel Springer was quoted by CNN as saying.

New copyright laws in Europe require search engines and social media platforms to share revenue with publishers if their content is displayed. Axel Springer said on Monday that it intends to rely on those rules.

“We put our faith on the implementation of a European copyright in which all publishers can transparently participate and receive reasonable compensation,” a spokesperson reportedly said.

News payments

Facebook meanwhile said last week that it has invested $600 million since 2018 to support the news industry, and plans at least $1 billion more over the next three years.

Facebook recently had headlines when it followed through on its warning, and last month began blocking Australian users from sharing local and international news on its platforms.

However after a week Facebook restored the option, after the Australian government agreed to make changes to parts of its controversial ‘media bargaining law’, with four amendments to the legislation.

The Australian Parliament then passed its amended ‘media bargaining law’, meaning that Australia has become the first country in the world where a government arbitrator can set prices tech firms must pay for local news and content.