Following the House of Representative’s successful passing of the News Media Bargaining Code, Facebook has banned Australian publishers and users from sharing and viewing local news articles on its platform.
The News Media Bargaining Code has officially entered the playing field, imposing various obligations on Facebook and Google to protect local Australian news media. As such, Facebook has retaliated by banning these traditional news media outlets on their site. This ban also extends to several government agencies, health providers, scientific outlets, and even satirical news. Moreover, individuals outside of Australia cannot access any Australian news publications on the platform.
By taking such an extreme measure in Australia, Facebook is sending a message to the rest of the world in preparation for copycat legislation. From a business perspective, this makes sense. If Google is already paying certain news media companies $30M, the monetary impact that this type of legislation could have on Facebook on a global scale is insurmountable. Although, from a consumer perspective, this action highlights Facebook’s market power and its ability to manipulate its platform. Many Australians responded with an immediate backlash against the decision, arguing it penalises the community rather than the news media companies themselves.
The director of the Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology has said that Facebook is “destroying its social licence to operate” domestically. By limiting ‘news’ to fake stories and conspiracy theories, Facebook is alienating its Australian userbase and hindering its image. More importantly, this may see other platforms such as Twitter, TikTok and YouTube gaining significant exposure to compensate for Facebook’s misdoings.
Aside from apologising for the block on government and health pages, Facebook has shown no sign of giving way and continues to maintain its position. Accordingly, the publishers in the European Union have begun to urge regulators to follow in Australia’s path and regulate news on Facebook and Google. It is likely that news as we know it will be changed forever and it may only be a matter of time for the rest of the world to follow.
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