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Since early Thursday morning, Australians were unable to post links to news articles or view the Facebook pages of local and international media, while registered users abroad were unable to view Australian news pages.
FILE: Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at the 56th Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany, on February 15, 2020. Image: AFP
BRISBANE – Australia on Thursday criticized Facebook as “clumsy” and “wrong” in imposing a news blackout on a law that would force you to pay for content, warning that the ban showed the immense power of the internet giants.
Facebook and other tech firms have strongly rejected Australia’s first legislation, fearing it could create a global precedent and affect their business model.
Since early Thursday morning, Australians were unable to post links to news articles or view the Facebook pages of local and international media, while registered users abroad were unable to view Australian news pages.
“Facebook was wrong. Facebook’s actions were unnecessary, heavy handed and will damage its reputation here in Australia,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.
He stressed that the government remains “absolutely committed” to the implementation of its plan, which was approved in the House of Representatives on Wednesday night and is now before the Senate.
“What today’s events confirm for all Australians is the immense market power of these digital media giants,” added Frydenberg.
“These digital giants occupy a very, very important place in our economy and in the digital landscape.”
Frydenberg’s criticism came hours after he tweeted that he had a “constructive discussion” with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Several emergency services were also caught in the blackout, with government pages alerting the public to Covid-19 outbreaks, wildfires and cyclones in the blank, as well as pages for domestic violence hotlines and charities. .
A Facebook spokesperson said official government pages “should not be affected by today’s announcement” and that the company “will reverse pages that have been inadvertently affected.”
Some non-news sites caught in the blackout made a gradual return throughout the day.
Human Rights Watch Australia Director Elaine Pearson described the blockade, which has also affected indigenous community pages and even the Facebook page itself, as an “alarming and dangerous turn of events.”
“Cutting off access to vital information to an entire country in the dead of night is inconceivable,” he said.
Media groups and the Australian government have also raised concerns that blocking verified news sources will allow misinformation to proliferate.
‘A STAR CHOICE’
Several Facebook pages that regularly promote misinformation and conspiracy theories were not affected by the ban.
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said Facebook needed to think “very carefully” about blocking the pages of organizations that employ professional journalists with editorial policies and fact-checking processes.
“In fact, they are saying that any information that is available on our site does not come from these reliable sources,” he told public broadcaster ABC.
“I imagine if they think seriously enough, they will start to worry quite a bit about what that would mean for the way their platform is perceived.”
Facebook said it had no choice but to implement the news block.
“The proposed law fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and the publishers who use it to share news content,” said Facebook manager for Australia and New Zealand William Easton.
“It has left us faced with a stark choice: try to comply with a law that ignores the realities of this relationship, or stop allowing news content on our services in Australia. With heavy hearts, we are choosing the latter.”
Facebook’s tough response contrasted with Google, which in recent days has negotiated deals with media groups, including one with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
News Corp was the last major private outlet to reach an agreement yet and was instrumental in pressuring the conservative Australian government to attack the tech giants.
PRESSURE TO SHARE INCOME
Facebook’s Easton said the firm has argued to Australian officials that “the exchange of value between Facebook and publishers favors publishers” and generates hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the country’s media organizations.
“We have long worked towards rules that encourage innovation and collaboration between digital platforms and news organizations,” he said.
“Unfortunately, this legislation does not do that. Instead, it seeks to penalize Facebook for content that it did not take or request.”
However, Australia’s competition watchdog has maintained that for every $ 100 spent on online advertising, Google captures $ 53, Facebook takes $ 28 and the rest is shared among others, depriving the media of the income needed to support journalism.
The situation is mirrored in other parts of the world where technology platforms are facing increasing pressure to share revenue with the media.
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