advertisement
The Australian government has come down heavily against Facebook’s decision to block news feed as well as information about health and emergency services, describing it as “arrogant” and disappointing.
Facebook took the action after the Australian government proposed laws that would require big tech platforms like Facebook and Google to reach commercial agreements and strike revenue deals with news outlets whose content drives traffic on the platforms.
Facebook, in a blog post, defended its action stating the proposes Australian law “fails to recognize is the fundamental nature of the relationship between our platform and publishers.”
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg called Facebook’s decision ‘unnecessary’ and said it will only damage the networking site’s reputation in the country. ”Facebook was wrong, Facebook's actions were unnecessary, they were heavy-handed, and they will damage its reputation here in Australia," he said.
Frydenberg alleged that there were no warning given to the government about shutting down of the news by Facebook and Google on its platform. “Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg gave no warning of the news shutdown when we spoke over the weekend,” he added.
Shortly after the News Corp-Google announcement, Facebook said it would no longer carry any news content in Australia because of that same new bargaining code
Facebook's decision stands in stark contrast to one from Google as it immediately stripped all news content from Australia in a dramatic escalation of its campaign.
“Today we made an incredibly difficult decision to restrict the availability of news on Facebook in Australia,” Campbell Brown, Facebook’s vice president of global news partnerships stated in a company blog on 17 February.
Campbell added, “What the proposed law introduced in Australia fails to recognize is the fundamental nature of the relationship between our platform and publishers.”
Meanwhile, Google has declined to comment on Facebook’s decision.
(With inputs from Reuters)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)