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With Facebook blocking all news pages and links from its Australian service, some people will be weighing up how theyâll continue to use the social media platform.
Facebook is ubiquitous, and for many of us serves as a link to our friends, family, events, photos and memories. After Facebookâs snap decision on Thursday to block Australians from seeing news articles on its platform, some users began experimenting with loopholes to continuing sharing news, even resorting to breaking up the text in creative ways or using pictures of cats when posting news stories, to throw Facebook off the scent. But in the hours since, those loopholes appear to have been closed.
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Stickers bearing the Facebook logo are pictured at Facebook Inc s F8 developers conference in San Jose, California. Photo: Reuters/Stephen Lam
Tech19/Feb/2021
In denying news content to its Australian users, Facebook is arguably overplaying its hand, behaving as a big company that thinks it can intimidate governments.
If it keeps doing this, it will ultimately lose customers, and thatâs the last thing Facebook wants.
Facebook news ban: How do you deactivate your account? What are the alternatives? brisbanetimes.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from brisbanetimes.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In denying news content to its Australian users, Facebook is arguably overplaying its hand, behaving as a big company that thinks it can intimidate governments.
If it keeps doing this, it will ultimately lose customers, and that’s the last thing Facebook wants.
Perhaps you’re already considering breaking up with Facebook, whether in reaction to the news ban, or out of a broader unease about its business model, which profiles its users with the goal of earning revenue from targeted advertising.
If so, the good news is it’s definitely possible to delete Facebook. Or, if you’re not ready to go the whole hog, you can certainly minimise your footprint on the platform.