Facebook to pay News Corp for content in Australia

Facebook has agreed to pay Rupert Murdoch's News Corp Australia for journalism from its local mastheads.

The deal has been secured just weeks after Australia passed a controversial world-first law aimed at making tech platforms pay for news content.

News Corp has not disclosed the value of the three-year contract in Australia. Last month, it clinched a global deal with Google.

Mr Murdoch's media empire began with his Australian newspapers.

The deal covers all of News Corp's content in the country - which is a significant amount.

News Corp Australia controls about 70% of newspaper circulation in Australia with mastheads including The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and The Herald Sun. It also owns news.com.au.

It also owns the Fox News-modelled conservative TV network Sky News Australia, which has grown to become the most-shared Australian news brand on Facebook.

News Corp already has a different deal with Facebook for its US media titles. It involves the platform paying for stories to include in its Facebook News tab - a product not available in Australia.

The Australian deal is far more broad - it covers all News Corp Australia content shared on Facebook.