Facebook blocks news in Australia over publisher dispute
Amid the controversy over a proposed online media law in Australia, Facebook is blocking the sharing of news articles in the country. A Facebook executive said Thursday that the company had decided to take this step «with a heavy heart.».
Users in Australia will no longer be able to share content from Australian or international news sites. Facebook had already threatened to introduce such a measure on Wednesday.
The measure quickly led to problems on the Facebook pages of Australian authorities responsible for combating the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters. The Facebook pages of at least three health authorities, on which up-to-date information on the coronavirus pandemic had previously been published, were affected by the restrictions.
Interactions everywhere
Environment Minister Sussan Ley also announced that the meteorological authority's Facebook page could no longer operate normally due to the restrictions. The problems occurred just as the agency was warning of the risk of flash flooding in the state of Queensland. In the state of Western Australia, on the other hand, the fire authority's Facebook page remained blank - even though there is a risk of catastrophic forest and bush fires.
Australia is planning strict regulation of the digital news market. Accordingly, Facebook, like Google, is to pay Australian media companies usage fees for the distribution of their journalistic content in future. A corresponding bill provides for fines in the millions in the event of infringements in future. In this way, part of the advertising revenue of the US online giants is to be passed on to the traditional media companies.
Other solutions
While Facebook has now intensified the dispute over the law with its blocking measures, Google is focusing on de-escalation. In recent days, the company has negotiated several agreements with Australian media companies to publish their content on the Google News service.
A corresponding agreement was concluded with News Corp, the company owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, among others. As part of this agreement, Google will make "substantial payments" to News Corp, the US internet giant announced. Google did not provide any specific details on the amount of these payments. (SDA)
