Facebook says it will restrict publishers and users in Australia from sharing or viewing Australian and international news content.
The social media giant said in a blog post that the move was in response to the federal government’s proposed legislation to force internet platforms to pay for news content.
Facebook’s decision means Australian publishers will not be able to share or post content on Facebook pages, while news content from non-Australian publishers will not be able to be viewed or shared by Australian users.
In addition, users outside of Australia will not be able to view or share Australian news content on Facebook or content from Australian news pages.
“The proposed law fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it to share news content,” Facebook said.
“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.”
Campbell Brown, Facebook’s VP of global news partnerships, said it had been a tough decision.
“Today we made an incredibly difficult decision to restrict the availability of news on Facebook in Australia,” Mr Brown said in a statement.
“Contrary to what some have suggested, Facebook does not steal news content. Publishers choose to share their stories on Facebook. From finding new readers to getting new subscribers and driving revenue, news organisations wouldn’t use Facebook if it didn’t help their bottom lines.”
Google similarly threatened to pull its search engine from Australia over the proposed Media Bargaining regulation. But Google has been signing deals to pay Australian news publishers in recent weeks, including via a three-year pact with News Corp announced Wednesday covering Australia and titles in other parts of the world.
With Reuters. More to come…
