Facebook plans to block publishers and users in Australia from sharing and viewing news content in response to the country’s legislative plans to force the tech giant to pay for news content.
The social media giant announced the move on Wednesday, hours after Google – the other target of the Media Bargaining law – struck a new cash-for-content deal with News Corp as it seeks to avoid new legislation.
In a blog post, William Easton – Facebook’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand – said: “The proposed law fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it to share news content.
“It has left us facing a stark choice: attempt to comply with a law that ignores the realities of this relationship, or stop allowing news content on our services in Australia. With a heavy heart, we are choosing the latter.”
In response to the announcement, Emily Bell, the founding director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School, accused Facebook of mischaracterising its relationship with news publishers “on a pretty profound level”.
She tweeted: “Facebook says the Australian government has misunderstood the relationship that the platform has with news. It is a voluntary posting platform full of willing publishers. I would say this mischaracterizes that relationship on a pretty profound level.
“Most publishers feel obliged to be on Facebook . They don’t like the asymmetry of the relationship, they dislike the requirement of going through an intermediary without access to even negligible data. We have five years of non-platform funded research that says this.”
Jason Kint, chief executive of US publishing trade body Digital Content Next, tweeted: “World’s greatest amplifier of disinfo and toxic sludge to your newsfeed is going to block the most trusted news brands in the world from reaching Australians. Why? Because its business model can’t handle anything other than surveillance capitalism. I hope its employees are proud.”
For Australian publishers, Facebook’s restrictions will prevent them from sharing or posting content on their pages. However, Facebook said administrators will still have access to other features on their pages, including page insights and the creator studio. They will also retain access to data tools and CrowdTangle.
The changes mean the social media company will not be launching Facebook News – a cash-for-content arrangement that is already active in the US and UK – in Australia. Easton said: “We will now prioritise investments to other countries, as part of our plans to invest in new licensing news programs and experiences.”
International publishers can continue to publish news content on Facebook, but links and posts will not be accessible to Australian audiences.
Australians will not be able to view or share domestic or international news content on the platform. Users from other countries will not be able to view or share Australian news content or content from Australian news pages.
Easton said: “We hope that in the future the Australian government will recognise the value we already provide and work with us to strengthen, rather than limit, our partnerships with publishers.”
In the blog, he sought to point to differences between Google and Facebook. Google Search, he said, is “inextricably intertwined with news and publishers do not voluntarily provide their content.
“On the other hand, publishers willingly choose to post news on Facebook, as it allows them to sell more subscriptions, grow their audiences and increase advertising revenue.”
Last year, he claimed, Facebook generated 5.1bn free referrals to Australian publishers worth an estimated AU$407m (£228m, US$315m).
By contrast, he claimed Facebook gains “minimal” business from news. “News makes up less than 4% of the content people see in their News Feed,” he said.
He claimed the proposed Media Bargaining law “seeks to penalise Facebook for content it didn’t take or ask for”.
Picture credit: Reuters/Stephen Lam & Reuters/Dado Ruvic
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