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LONDON (Reuters) – Facebook’s move to block all media content in Australia is a staggeringly irresponsible attempt to intimidate a democracy and will toughen the resolve of lawmakers around the world to be tough on tech giants, said one high British legislator.
“This action, this bully boy action, that they have carried out in Australia, I believe will ignite the desire to go further among legislators around the world,” said Julian Knight, Chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee. of the British Parliament. Reuters.
“We represent the people and I’m sorry, but you can’t ignore that, and if Facebook thinks it will, it will face the same long-term ire as the big oil and tobacco companies,” Knight said.
The social media giant stunned Australia on Thursday when it blocked all media content on its platform in a staggering escalation of a dispute with the government over payment for content.
The move came after the Scott Morrison government drafted a law to require Facebook and Google to enter into business deals with media outlets whose links direct traffic to their platforms, or be subjected to forced arbitration to agree on a price.
“If you get value by bringing reliable information sources, in the same way that if you get value, for example, from music broadcasts, then those who carry it and then sell advertising from that value should pay for it.” Knight said.
“I think they are almost using Australia as a test of strength for global democracies as to whether or not they want to impose restrictions on the way they do business or corrections on the way they operate within markets. So, in my opinion , we are all behind Australia. “
When asked if Facebook and other tech giants had gotten too big for their boots, Knight said: “That’s the understatement of the century, right?”
“The way you deal with the tech giants in a positive way is by looking at the competition,” he said.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Edited by Kate Holton and Alistair Smout)
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