Facebook threatens to ban news sharing features in Australia.
Facebook has made it known that it will block Australians facebook users from sharing news if a landmark plan to make digital platform for news content becomes law.
The digital giant said that 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.
The managing director of Facebook Australia and New Zealand, Will Easton said in a blog post,
“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, long-term vibrancy of Australia news and news factor”.
The mandatory code has been backed by all major media companies including News Corp Australia, Nine entertainment and Guardian Australia, as a way to balance the damage caused by loss of advertising revenue to facebook and Google.
Rod Sims who is the chairman of the Australian competition and consumer commission said that facebook's threat towards them was ill-timed and misconceived.
According to Sims,
“The draft media bargaining code aims to ensure Australian news businesses, including independent, community and regional media can get a seat at the table for fair negotiations with facebook and Google.
“Facebook already pays some media for news content, The code simply aims to bring fairness and transparency to Facebook's and Google's relationship with Australian news media businesses.
“We note that according to the University Canberra's 2020 digital news report,39% of Australians use facebook for general news, and 49% use facebook for news about covid-19.
“As the ACCC and the Government work to finalise the draft legistlation, we hope that all parties engage in constructive discussions”.
In response to facebook Inc actions against Australian news media and businesses, The director of Institute's Centre for Responsible Technology, Peter Lewis siad,
“As a big advertising company, Facebook would do well to realise it success is only as strong as it network of users.
“Bullying their elected representatives seems a strange way to build long-term trust”.
A facebook spokesperson told the BBC that facebook will provide specific details on how it will enforce the ban very soon.
Amid the ban, some business and advertising experts said tech firms should be paying publishers for quality news content that they repost on or through their platforms.
A professor at the IMD business school in Switzerland and Singapore said Google, Facebook and others have been getting away with giving it away for free too long.
One expert said that facebook wanted to kill off Australia's initiative to stop it spreading to other countries where the financial impact would be more severe to them.
The threat given to the Australian government by facebook has been dismissed as a threat and vowed that it would not compromise the mandatory law already placed by the government as they work plans to make the law fully enforced.
Australia says this is a fundamental bargaining power imbalance which means that news websites are unfairly deprived of advertising revenue siphoned off by Google and Facebook.
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