Washington, February 25: The US tech giant, Facebook on Wednesday said that it will invest a sum of at least $1 Billion to 'support journalism' over the next three years. "Facebook is more than willing to partner with news publishers," the company's chief of global affairs, Nick Clegg said in a statement and added that the social media giant 'stands ready' to support the new media. Facebook Blocks Australian Users From Sharing News Content: Several Emergency Services Accounts Hit.

While defending his company's move in the dispute with the Australian government over payment to news contributors in a blog post titled, 'The Real Story of What Happened With News on Facebook in Australia,' Clegg said," We absolutely recognize quality journalism is at the heart of how open societies function - informing and empowering citizens and holding the powerful to account." Australia Passes Law to Make Google, Facebook Pay for News.

Technological giants including Google, Facebook had been at loggerheads with the Australian government, ever since the latter proposed a law forcing them to make payments to the news websites for hosting their content on their online platforms.

However, the Australian parliament on Thursday has passed amendments to the controversial ' News Media Bargaining Code' agreed between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday. Following which, Facebook restored various news pages on its platform.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 25, 2021 11:18 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).