Facebook Could Block Sharing of News Stories in Australia

The move, a response to pressure to pay publishers when their stories are posted on the social network, could add to internet silos springing up around the world.

With each passing day, the World Wide Web is becoming an outdated name.

Facebook warned on Monday that it would block users and news organizations in Australia from sharing local and international news stories on its social network and Instagram if the country passed a proposed code of conduct aimed at curbing the power of Facebook and Google.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the country’s top competition authority, is drafting a bill for Parliament that would require both companies to negotiate with media publishers and pay them for content that appears on their sites.

To continue reading this New York Times report, go to:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/31/technology/facebook-block-news-stories-australia.html

Also see:

Facebook threatens to ban Australians from sharing news after Google launches attack on Government plans
Australians could be blocked from sharing news content on Facebook and Instagram, if a world-first attempt to govern how media companies deal with big tech becomes law.

Facebook has issued the threat in response to a proposed law that would see Facebook and Google forced to pay Australian media organisations for hosting their content.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-01/facebook-threatens-to-ban-australians-from-sharing-news-content/12616216

Facebook threatens to block Australians from sharing news in battle over landmark media law
Facebook will block Australians from sharing local and international news on Facebook and Instagram if the news media code becomes law, the digital giant has warned of a landmark plan to make digital platforms pay for news content.

The sharing of personal content between family and friends will not be affected and neither will the sharing of news by Facebook users outside of Australia, the social network said.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/sep/01/facebook-instagram-threatens-block-australians-sharing-news-landmark-accc-media-law

An Update About Changes to Facebook’s Services in Australia
Australia is drafting a new regulation that misunderstands the dynamics of the internet and will do damage to the very news organisations the government is trying to protect. When crafting this new legislation, the commission overseeing the process ignored important facts, most critically the relationship between the news media and social media and which one benefits most from the other.

Assuming this draft code becomes law, we will reluctantly stop allowing publishers and people in Australia from sharing local and international news on Facebook and Instagram. This is not our first choice – it is our last. But it is the only way to protect against an outcome that defies logic and will hurt, not help, the long-term vibrancy of Australia’s news and media sector.

We share the Australian Government’s goal of supporting struggling news organisations, particularly local newspapers, and have engaged extensively with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that has led the effort. But its solution is counterproductive to that goal. The proposed law is unprecedented in its reach and seeks to regulate every aspect of how tech companies do business with news publishers. Most perplexing, it would force Facebook to pay news organisations for content that the publishers voluntarily place on our platforms and at a price that ignores the financial value we bring publishers.
https://about.fb.com/news/2020/08/changes-to-facebooks-services-in-australia/

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