Zuckerberg lobbies Josh Frydenberg over plan to force Facebook and Google to pay for news content

Treasurer says Facebook founder had not managed to convince federal government to back down

Facebook's founder Mark Zuckerberg has lobbied senior federal ministers about the proposed code forcing the digital giants to pay media companies, and the prime minister has engaged with Microsoft amid threats from Google about removing its search engine from Australia.

With a lobbying offensive in overdrive with Labor expected to endorse the Morrison government's code after a shadow cabinet meeting this week, and with a Senate inquiry continuing to hear from stakeholders - the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, confirmed the conversation with Zuckerberg on Sunday.