Australia's proposed law to make tech giants pay for the news articles shared on their networks has Google and Facebook doing a good cop/bad cop routine.
For years, Facebook has been in a defensive crouch amid a slew of privacy scandals, antitrust lawsuits and charges that it was letting hate speech and extremism destroy democracy. Early…
Facebook has been in a defensive crouch amid a slew of privacy scandals, antitrust lawsuits and charges that it was letting hate speech and extremism destroy democracy. Early Thursday, though, it abruptly pivoted to take the offensive in Australia, where it lowered the boom on publishers and the government with a sudden decision to block news on its platform across the entire country. That power play a response to an Australian law that would compel Facebook to pay publishers for using their news stories might easily backfire, given how concerned many governments have grown about the company s unchecked influence over society, democracy and political discourse.
For years, Facebook has been in a defensive crouch amid a slew of privacy scandals, antitrust lawsuits and charges that it was letting hate speech and extremism