Last week millions of Australians logged on to
Facebook only to find the tech giant had made good on their threat and blocked publishers and users from sharing news in Australia. News publishers can no longer post their content, nor can Australian users share links to any Australian or international news sources. This comes after months of negotiation between the tech giants and the Australian government, who are looking to pass legislation that would require tech platforms to pay publishers for their content.
The proposed News Media Bargaining Code would require platforms like Facebook and
Google to pay Australian news publishers for the content posted and shared on their platforms, including displaying links to content. Debate over the merits of the code has been heating up as the date for passing the legislation grows closer, with Google being the first to threaten that they would pull Search from Australia, effectively preventing Australians from ‘Googling’ things. While