Facebook flexing their muscle on Australia
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said his government will not be intimidated by Facebook blocking news feeds to Australian users and described the move to “ Unfriend Australia” as arrogant and disappointing.
Facebook is responding to a proposed law that would make tech giants pay for news content on their platforms Australians on Thursday woke up to find that Facebook pages of all local and global news sites were unavailable.
People outside the country are also unable to read or access any Australian news publications on the platform. Several government’s health and emergency pages were also blocked despite pandemics. Facebook later asserted this was a mistake and many of these pages are now back online.
Google and Facebook have fought the law because they say it doesn’t reflect how the internet works, and unfairly “penalises” their platforms.
Google, however, has in recent days signed payment deals with three major Australian media outlets.
Facebook’s action came just hours after Google agreed to pay Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp for content from news sites across its media empire.
Seventeen million Australians visit the social media site every month.
Mark McGowan, Western Australian Premier accused the company of “behaving like a North Korean dictator”.
In a Tweet, Sydney Morning Herald editor Lisa Davies described the move as a “tantrum”.
Human Rights Watch’s Australia director aid Facebook was censoring the flow of information in the country – calling it a “ dangerous turn of events.”
“Cutting off access to vital information to an entire country in the dead of the night is unconscionable,” said Elaine Pearson.
Australian authorities had drawn up the law to “level the playing field” between tech giants and struggling publishers over profits. Of every A$100 (£56 spent on digital advertising in Australian media these days A$81 goes to Google and Facebook.
Facebook however said it helped Australian publishers earn about A$407m (
£228m) last year through referrals, but for itself “ the platform gain from new is minimal”.
Under the ban, Australian publishers are also restricted from sharing or posting any links on their Facebook pages. The national broadcaster, the ABC, and newspapers like The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian have already millions of followers.