<p>Google and Facebook are "very close" to deals with major Australian media to pay for news, a top government official said Monday, as the tech giants scramble to avoid landmark regulation.</p>.<p>Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said that talks with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai had made "great progress" in resolving a standoff being closely watched around the world.</p>.<p>Australia is poised to adopt legislation that would force digital companies to pay for news content, something that would create a global precedent and, according to Facebook and Google, wreck the way the internet works.</p>.<p>The companies have threatened to partially withdraw services from the country if the rules become law, sparking a war of words with the government in Canberra.</p>.<p>But that disagreement appeared to ease on Monday, with Frydenberg telling public broadcaster ABC talks with the companies "made great progress over the course of the weekend".</p>.<p>"I think we're very close to some very significant commercial deals," he said, "and in doing so that will transform the domestic media landscape."</p>.<p>The agreements could be enough to see Facebook and Google avoid the most severe parts of the legislation -- including binding arbitration to ensure they are not using their online advertising duopoly to dictate terms in deals with media companies.</p>.<p>Amid Frydenberg's remarks, SevenWest Media, owner of broadcaster 7NEWS and The West Australian newspaper, announced Monday a new agreement for its content to be hosted on Google's News Showcase product.</p>.<p>The Sydney Morning Herald reported the first major deal with a large Australian news organisation was worth more than Aus$30 million (US$23 million) a year.</p>.<p>SevenWest chairman Kerry Stokes said it was a "great outcome" and hailed the government's work on its news media bargaining code as "instrumental in the outcome of this ground-breaking agreement".</p>.<p>The firm will join several smaller local publishers on News Showcase, which Google said had received more than one million views since launching in Australian eight days ago.</p>.<p>Frydenberg's comments suggest major Australian media organisations, such as Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and Nine Entertainment, could be close to reaching similar deals.</p>.<p>Newsgroups worldwide have seen their businesses ravaged by the loss of advertising dollars that once flowed to their newspapers but are now overwhelmingly captured by the big digital platforms.</p>.<p>Thousands of journalists' jobs have been lost and numerous outlets forced to close in Australia alone over the past decade.</p>
<p>Google and Facebook are "very close" to deals with major Australian media to pay for news, a top government official said Monday, as the tech giants scramble to avoid landmark regulation.</p>.<p>Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said that talks with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai had made "great progress" in resolving a standoff being closely watched around the world.</p>.<p>Australia is poised to adopt legislation that would force digital companies to pay for news content, something that would create a global precedent and, according to Facebook and Google, wreck the way the internet works.</p>.<p>The companies have threatened to partially withdraw services from the country if the rules become law, sparking a war of words with the government in Canberra.</p>.<p>But that disagreement appeared to ease on Monday, with Frydenberg telling public broadcaster ABC talks with the companies "made great progress over the course of the weekend".</p>.<p>"I think we're very close to some very significant commercial deals," he said, "and in doing so that will transform the domestic media landscape."</p>.<p>The agreements could be enough to see Facebook and Google avoid the most severe parts of the legislation -- including binding arbitration to ensure they are not using their online advertising duopoly to dictate terms in deals with media companies.</p>.<p>Amid Frydenberg's remarks, SevenWest Media, owner of broadcaster 7NEWS and The West Australian newspaper, announced Monday a new agreement for its content to be hosted on Google's News Showcase product.</p>.<p>The Sydney Morning Herald reported the first major deal with a large Australian news organisation was worth more than Aus$30 million (US$23 million) a year.</p>.<p>SevenWest chairman Kerry Stokes said it was a "great outcome" and hailed the government's work on its news media bargaining code as "instrumental in the outcome of this ground-breaking agreement".</p>.<p>The firm will join several smaller local publishers on News Showcase, which Google said had received more than one million views since launching in Australian eight days ago.</p>.<p>Frydenberg's comments suggest major Australian media organisations, such as Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and Nine Entertainment, could be close to reaching similar deals.</p>.<p>Newsgroups worldwide have seen their businesses ravaged by the loss of advertising dollars that once flowed to their newspapers but are now overwhelmingly captured by the big digital platforms.</p>.<p>Thousands of journalists' jobs have been lost and numerous outlets forced to close in Australia alone over the past decade.</p>