Australia a 'proxy battle' for world on news media code, says Treasurer

FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed Facebook logo is seen in front of a displayed Australian flag in this illustration photo taken February 18, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has been a "proxy battle" for the world, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said on Tuesday after announcing Facebook would restore news pages in the country following ammendments to a proposed law.

Australia and the social media group have been locked in a standoff for more than a week after the government introduced legislation that challenged Facebook and Alphabet Inc's Google's dominance in the news content market.

Facebook last week blocked all news content and several state government and emergency department accounts.

(Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Kim Coghill)