In a shocking turn of events, social media giant Facebook blocked access of news on its platform to Australians.
According to a report by Xinhua agency, various media groups including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), and some local health authorities have not been able to share their content on the app. The residents of the country have also been denied access to world news on the platform.
The moves comes “with a heavy heart” in response to the federal government’s proposed media bargaining laws, the social media giant said in a statement. The new law would force technology companies such as Google and Facebook to pay Australian news outlets for their content.
“The proposed law fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it to share news content,” Will Easton, Facebook’s Australia and New Zealand managing director, said.
“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.”