The US-based News Media Alliance has commended the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission on its release of a draft news media bargaining code, aimed at rectifying the imbalance of power between news publishers and digital platforms Google and Facebook.

Alliance president and chief executive David Chavern said a few digital platforms were "making up the rules and serving as the gatekeepers" to all of the high-quality, accurate, and sometimes lifesaving information journalists across the globe worked tirelessly to provide, "depriving publishers of vital data and revenue and leaving them with little to no bargaining power to protect and monetize their content."

Chavern described the move as "an encouraging first step toward a compensation framework to ensure we are adequately compensated for our content, and serves as an example for other countries around the world to follow.

"We commend the ACCC for championing quality journalism and ensuring that it is protected in the online ecosystem."

The ACCC is accepting comments on the draft code until late August. The Australian Parliament must pass the final legislation before the code would take effect.