Facebook to pay French publishers for reusing their content

New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) As pressure mounts on social media platforms to pay news publishers for using their content, Facebook has reached a multi-year pact to pay French publishers for resharing their content on its platforms.

The social network will also launch Facebook News in France in January, to create a dedicated destination for reputable news content.

Google has already reached a deal with news publishers in France at the beginning of this year.

In a statement, the company said that it is announcing a partnership with 'Alliance' in France.

"After constructive negotiations, this solution will further our investment in the news industry, and strengthen the news experience for both people and publishers on Facebook," the social network said on Thursday.

Facebook News was launched in the US last year. The social network is planning to expand the platform to other countries including India, the UK, Germany, France and Brazil.

"We believe that continued collaboration is the best path forward for both publishers and platforms -- especially for the many people who now prefer to consume news online," Alliance Chairman Pierre Louette said.

In 2020, Facebook News Feed sent over 180 billion clicks to news publishers - additional free traffic worth about $9 billion in estimated value.

The company said it will be investing "at least" a billion dollars to support media companies over the next three years.

In the calendar year 2020, Facebook's revenue was up 20 per cent to $86 billion from $70.7 billion in the previous fiscal year and digital advertising is the core business for the social network.