Politicians, news outlets and civil rights groups in the UK and US have targeted Facebook for its decision to block all news content in Australia.
The groups accuse Facebook of “attempting to intimidate democracy.” According to the platform’s decision, 18 million Australian users cannot view or share news. This move was made in response to a new proposed Australian bill, which would force technology companies (Facebook, Google) to pay for the content of publishers and agencies.
Google sure to strike deals with several agencies before the law was implemented so it could serve news to and from Australia, but Facebook took a more aggressive approach.
After Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrisoncalled the company's actions "both arrogant and disappointing," Julian Knight, chairman of the British parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, said that Facebook's action (which he called a bullyboy action) shows the 's desire platform to show that it may not care about laws.
Knight said that now everyone needs to see how tech giants, who have to pay for the content they show, should be treated.
In the same vein, David Cicilline, a US, claimed that this movewas “not compatible with democracy.”
“The threat to bring an entire country to its knees to agree to Facebook’s terms is the ultimate admission of monopoly power,” Cicilline said on Twitter, posting a link to an article about Facebook’s decision.
The Australian government says the new law is aimed at helping struggling publishers, who have lost significant advertising revenue to US over the past decade.
In addition to conventional news agencies, government pages, etc. , support pages for women's health and domestic violence were also blocked.
Facebook said it would roll back those blocks and blamed the Australian government for its misleading definition of news content, although the government does not accept that excuse.
Morrison wrote on Facebook: “Facebook’s actions against Australia, disrupting essential information services, such as services health and emergency.”
In the UK, the government said it was “vital” for the Australian public to have access to accurate news and information, particularly during a global pandemic , and added: “We encourage Facebook and the Australian government to work together to find a solution.”
Steven Guilbeault, a minister in Canada, said Facebook's move was "extremely irresponsible."
Dietmar Wolff, head of the BDZV in Germany, said: “It is time for governments around the world to limit the power of platforms.”
Civil rights and media groups also condemned Facebook. Tim O'Connor of Amnesty International Australia said it was "extremely concerning" that a private company could control access to information. "Facebook's action vividly demonstrates why allowing one company to wield such dominant power over our information ecosystem threatens human rights," O'Connor said.
Elaine Pearson, director of Human Rights Watch Australia, said that “Cutting off access to vital information across an entire country is unusual.”
However, Bernard Keane, the political editor of the Crikey website, defended Facebook and said its move was “the result of a miscalculation by a government that believed it could blackmail tech.”
In the UK, Guardian Media Group, which owns the Guardian and the Observer, said Facebook's action paved the way for the spread of misinformation at a time when facts and clarity are absolutely essential.
“We believe that public interest journalism should be as widely available as possible to have a healthy democracy,” a spokesperson said. “We support that governments have a role to play when it comes to establishing fair and transparent regulation of online platforms.”
Source: The Guardian
