Scott Morrison has sharply criticised Facebook’s “arrogant” move to ban Australian users from sharing or viewing news content, saying the government will “not be intimidated by BigTech”.
“Facebook’s actions to unfriend Australia today, cutting off essential information services on health and emergency services, were as arrogant as they were disappointing,” he said in a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon.
Facebook wiped news pages blank without warning on Thursday, in response to the federal government’s proposed media bargaining code that would force internet platforms to pay for news content.
However, its move to remove news organisations also saw other official pages censored, at least temporarily – including those of governmental health organisations, social services, union groups and the Bureau of Meteorology.
Mr Morrison said Facebook’s actions only confirmed concerns expressed by a number of countries about the behaviour of tech companies who thought they were “bigger than governments and that the rules should not apply to them”.
“They may be changing the world, but that doesn’t mean they run it,” he said.
“We will not be intimidated by BigTech seeking to pressure our Parliament as it votes on our important News Media Bargaining Code.”
Earlier, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg described the move as “heavy-handed”.
“Facebook was wrong. Facebook’s actions were unnecessary, they were heavy-handed, and they will damage its reputation here in Australia,” Mr Frydenberg told reporters on Thursday.
Mr Frydenberg said the decision to block government sites including those offering support through the pandemic, mental health and emergency services was “completely unrelated to the media code.”
“What today’s events do confirm for all Australians is the immense market power of these media digital giants,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“These digital giants loom very, very large in our economy and on the digital landscape.”
Mr Frydenberg earlier on Thursday spoke with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg describing their conversation as “constructive” following the censorship decision.
But he said there remained ongoing issues to work through with Facebook over its proposed legislation.
“We certainly want Google and Facebook to stay in Australia,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“But at the same time if you’re doing business in Australia you need to comply with the laws made by the elected Australian Parliament.”
Facebook has been engaged in negotiations with media businesses in Australia over reaching commercial deals.
But the social media giant says the government’s proposed legislation has left it with no choice but to act.
“As the law does not provide clear guidance on the definition of news content, we have taken a broad definition in order to respect the law as drafted,” a Facebook spokesman said in a statement.
“However, we will reverse any pages that are inadvertently impacted.”
It’s decision has prompted wide-spread backlash with Labor’s Treasury spokesperson Jim Chalmers earlier describing the situation as a “mess” of the government’s making.
“It is up to the government to tell us what has gone on here and what they are doing to fix it,” Mr Chalmers said.
Concerns have been raised over how the news ban will impact people’s access to health information during the pandemic, including in-language services run by SBS.
The social media giant had previously threatened to ban news for Australians in response to the media code.
But Mr Frydenberg said Facebook had given no notice of its action to the Australian government before taking the measure.
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the Australian government would not back down from its legislative push in response to Facebook’s move.
“We are very clear that we think this is the wrong action by Facebook,” Mr Fletcher said.
“Of course, we’re very clear on the proposition that we’re going to legislate the code.”
The media bargaining code is set to go to the Senate after clearing the lower house.
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