Australia Wakes Up to Empty News Feed on Facebook
Facebook s dramatic move represents a split from Google after they joined together for years to campaign against the laws. By Reuters | Updated: 18 February 2021 12:03 IST
Australian publishers can publish news on Facebook, but links can t be viewed by Australian audiences
Highlights
The Australian Parliament is debating proposed laws
Google is striking pay deals with Australian news media companies
Australians woke to empty news feeds on their Facebook pages on Thursday after the social media giant blocked all media content in a surprise and dramatic escalation of a dispute with the government over paying for content.
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SYDNEY (Reuters) - Facebook faced backlash from publishers and politicians on Thursday after blocking news feeds in Australia in a surprise escalation of a dispute with the government over a law to require it to share revenue from news.
Facebook wiped out pages from Australian state governments and charities as well as from domestic and international news organisations, three days before the launch of a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination programme.
Though the measure was limited to Australia, European publishers along with British and Canadian politicians described it as an attempt to put pressure on governments that might consider similar measures.
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Australians woke to empty news feeds on their Facebook pages on Thursday after the social media platform
blocked all media content in a surprise and dramatic escalation of a dispute with the government over paying for content.
The move was swiftly criticised by news producers, politicians and human rights advocates, particularly when it became clear that official health pages, emergency safety warnings and welfare networks had all been scrubbed from the site, along with news. Facebook was wrong, Facebook s actions were unnecessary, they were heavy-handed, and they will damage its reputation here in Australia, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told a televised news conference.
Sort this out : Facebook s chaotic news ban in Australia blocks pages for fire services, charities and politicians kvia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kvia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.