MELBOURNE, Australia — The Australian government said on Monday that Google and Facebook would have to pay media outlets for news content in the country, part of an emerging global effort to rescue local publishers by moving to compel tech giants to share their advertising revenue.

The decision to mandate compensation for news articles displayed on Facebook pages or in Google search results — important drivers of traffic for those platforms — comes as the coronavirus pandemic accelerates years of advertising losses at media outlets large and small.

In the United States, regional publishers have cut staffs that were already diminished, and newspapers as large as The Los Angeles Times have announced furloughs and pay cuts. In Australia, as in America, dozens of smaller publishers have suspended printing or shuttered completely in recent weeks.

“We can’t deny the importance of creating a level playing field, ensuring a fair go for companies and the appropriate compensation for content,” Josh Frydenberg, the country’s treasurer, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the public broadcaster, on Monday.