The Australian government has been leading the way in getting the likes of Google, Microsoft & Facebook to start paying for the news content they channel through their sites. There was some initial push-back from Google (threwho have now decided to pay directly to a number of our newspapers and news channels.
Typically, Zuckerberg hasn't really read the room and they have culled all news content and sharing from Facebook in Australia.
Of course they decided to use some sort of algorithm to cut content which resulted in Fire and Rescue NSW, Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA, SA Health and Queensland Health, the Bureau of Meteorology, Bowel Cancer Australia, the Kids Cancer Project,1800 Respect, Mission Australia, Hobart Women’s Shelter, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, Australian Wildlife Conservancy as well as satirical 'news' outlets Betoota Advocate, the Chaser, and ABC’s Mad As Hell.
Mexican standoff at the moment, but this is the start of a massive push by the likes of California and a number of countries from introducing similar bills regarding news content on Facebook.
‘Unfriend Australia’: PM slams Facebook move to cut off news to the nation
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has slammed Facebook for cutting off essential services and said it should not think it had the power to run the world, saying the “bullying” would not stop the government legislating a new code for digital content.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg also slammed the actions of social media giant Facebook as unnecessary and heavy-handed following the company’s decision to ban publishers and users in Australia from sharing or viewing any news articles on its platforms.
“Facebook’s actions to unfriend Australia today, cutting off essential information services on health and emergency services, were as arrogant as they were disappointing,” Mr Morrison said on Thursday.
“These actions will only confirm the concerns that an increasing number of countries are as expressing about the behaviour of BigTech companies who think they are bigger than governments and that the rules should not apply to them.
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“They may be changing the world, but that doesn’t mean they should run it.
“We will not be intimidated by this act of bullying by BigTech, seeking to pressure parliament as it votes on our important News Media Bargaining Code.
“I am in regular contact with the leaders of other nations on these issues. We simply won’t be intimidated, just as we weren’t when Amazon threatened to leave the country and when Australia drew other nations together to combat the publishing of terrorist content on social media platforms.
“I encourage Facebook to constructively work with the Australian government, as Google recently demonstrated in good faith.”
Mr Frydenberg told a press conference on Thursday afternoon he had been given no warning of Facebook’s decision, which it said it was taking to carry through on a threat it made in September after being unable to find a solution in discussions with the Australian government.
“Facebook was wrong. Facebook’s actions were unnecessary. They were heavy-handed and they will damage its reputation here in Australia,” Mr Frydenberg said. “We certainly weren’t given any notice by Facebook.”
The bargaining code, which passed through the House of Representatives on Wednesday night, will require social media companies to pay media outlets for using their content. The bill is expected to pass the Senate and become law as early as next week.
Mr Frydenberg, who spoke to Facebook global chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday morning, indicated the government was prepared to consider further amendments to the bill to accommodate the tech giant’s concerns. But he said “time would tell” whether a resolution could be negotiated.
“We’ll see if we can reach some clarifications and get them back to the table and keep them
providing their service here in Australia. But our commitment, our number one commitment, is to legislate this code,” Mr Frydenberg said.
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said Facebook’s decision to block authoritative news sources would further expose the company to the spread of misinformation and unverified content.
“What they’re effectively saying to Australians is, ‘you will not find content on our platform which comes from an organisation which employs professional journalists, which has editorial policies, which has fact-checking processes’,” Mr Fletcher said.
Facebook’s Australia and New Zealand managing director, William Easton, said in a blog post early on Thursday morning the decision had been made because the proposed code “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it to share news content.”
“It has left us facing a stark choice: attempt to comply with a law that ignores the realities of this relationship, or stop allowing news content on our services in Australia. With a heavy heart, we are choosing the latter,” Mr Easton said on the company’s blog.
Facebook’s stance was different to search giant Google, which had also threatened to exit Australia. Google has since struck multi-million dollar deals with major Australian publishers for the use of their content.
Media publishers including Nine Entertainment Co, publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, News Corp and the ABC, also criticised Facebook’s decision.
Nine’s outgoing chief executive Hugh Marks said Facebook’s decision was “a real shock” and showed why the code was needed.
“They are trying to prove how powerful they are. They’ve certainly proven that. The purpose of the legislation is actually trying to deal with that power, so they are kicking a massive own goal,” he told Sydney radio station 2GB
