Facebook’s Australian news ban ‘an assault on a sovereign nation’, ministers say

Scott Morrison has taken to his huge Facebook following to slam the tech giant for banning Australians from accessing news on its platform.  

The US social media giant has infuriated Australians after blocking them from reading and sharing local news in response to a world-first law to make tech giants pay media companies for the content they use.

From Thursday, when Australians went to reliable Facebook news accounts they were met with a message saying ‘no posts’ were available. Even overseas news was hidden.   

The Orwellian deletion of an entire continent’s news sparked furious condemnation from Cabinet ministers – one who likened the drastic move to an act of war – and declared the government will stare down the tech giant.

The Prime Minister on Thursday afternoon said Facebook’s actions are as ‘arrogant as they were disappointing’.

The Prime Minister on Thursday afternoon said Facebook’s actions are as ‘arrogant as they were disappointing’

Scott Morrison’s latest statement  

Facebook’s actions to unfriend Australia today, cutting off essential information services on health and emergency services, were as arrogant as they were disappointing. I am in regular contact with the leaders of other nations on these issues.

These actions will only confirm the concerns that an increasing number of countries are expressing about the behaviour of BigTech companies who think they are bigger than governments and that the rules should not apply to them. They may be changing the world, but that doesn’t mean they run it.

We will not be intimidated by BigTech seeking to pressure our Parliament as it votes on our important News Media Bargaining Code. Just as we weren’t intimidated when Amazon threatened to leave the country and when Australia drew other nations together to combat the publishing of terrorist content on social media platforms.

I encourage Facebook to constructively work with the Australian Government, as Google recently demonstrated in good faith. 

‘Facebook’s actions to unfriend Australia today, cutting off essential information services on health and emergency services, were as arrogant as they were disappointing,’ he wrote. 

Mr Morrison said the Federal government won’t be intimidated. ‘These actions will only confirm the concerns that an increasing number of countries are as expressing about the behaviour of BigTech companies who think they are bigger than governments and that the rules should not apply to them. 

‘We will not be intimidated by BigTech seeking to pressure our Parliament as it votes on our important News Media Bargaining Code,’ he continued.

‘Just as we weren’t intimidated when Amazon threatened to leave the country and when Australia drew other nations together to combat the publishing of terrorist content on social media platforms.’

Mr Morrison said he encourages Facebook to ‘constructively work with the Australian Government, as Google recently demonstrated in good faith’. 

Health Minister Greg Hunt said the move ‘is an assault on a sovereign nation and an assault on peoples’ freedom. 

‘Facebook has taken steps which are unprecedented and reprehensible, unacceptable in a democracy such as this and an abuse of their power,’ he said. 

Mark Zuckerberg’s negotiating partner, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, revealed the Government was blindsided by the ban. 

The move followed a series of calls between Mr Frydenberg and the Facebook founder over the past week.

There was even a sense in government circles that the social network was close to deals with media organisations. 

‘Facebook was wrong. Facebook’s actions were unnecessary. They were heavy-handed and they will damage its reputation here in Australia,’ Mr Frydenberg said. ‘We certainly weren’t given any notice by Facebook.’

The Government’s proposed law which so unsettled Facebook would create an arbitration panel to set a binding price for news in cases where tech giants failed to reach deals with media companies whose original journalism they linked to. 

The Australian people and its government will not be bullied by some big tech company

 Agriculture Minister David Littleproud

Facebook executives feared giving in to the laws could set a global precedent where it was forced to pay to distribute news. 

But now news is banned altogether Down Under and media scholars fear disinformation will now run rampant on Facebook. 

Google, too, had threatened to pull its search engine from Australia in response to the legislation. But the search giant backflipped in recent weeks, striking deals with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Nine Entertainment.  

Facebook should be 'sent-packing' from Australia for stifling free speech after it banned news content, according to Nationals Senator Matt Canavan. Pictured: CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook should be ‘sent-packing’ from Australia for stifling free speech after it banned news content, according to Nationals Senator Matt Canavan. Pictured: CEO Mark Zuckerberg

The Facebook page for Australia's public broadcaster, the ABC, now appears like this - saying 'no posts yet'

The Facebook page for Australia’s public broadcaster, the ABC, now appears like this – saying ‘no posts yet’ 

The decision means Daily Mail Australia's nearly five million followers can no longer access our news content on Facebook

The decision means Daily Mail Australia’s nearly five million followers can no longer access our news content on Facebook

A screenshot shows a notification from Facebook that explains a news article cannot be shared

A screenshot shows a notification from Facebook that explains a news article cannot be shared

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher today suggested Facebook’s position could simply be a last-ditch negotiating tactic. 

‘The code is not yet in the law, so it raises an obvious question, why are they doing this now?’ Mr Fletcher said. 

And while the Government has offered to ‘work with’ Facebook on tweaking the code, there seems to be little chance the laws will be significantly watered down, given the rhetoric of some government MPs.  

‘The Australian people and its government will not be bullied by some big tech company that is putting people’s lives at risk and putting profits ahead of people,’ Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said. 

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce said Zuckerberg was behaving like dictator Kim Jong-un. ‘This is a North Korean policy agency being pursued by Facebook,’ Mr Joyce told Daily Mail Australia. 

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young – rarely on the same side of politics as Mr Joyce – lambasted Facebook as ‘Fake Book’.  

PRIME MINISTER SCOTT MORRISON’S FULL STATEMENT 

Facebook’s actions to unfriend Australia today, cutting off essential information services on health and emergency services, were as arrogant as they were disappointing. I am in regular contact with the leaders of other nations on these issues.

These actions will only confirm the concerns that an increasing number of countries are expressing about the behaviour of BigTech companies who think they are bigger than governments and that the rules should not apply to them. They may be changing the world, but that doesn’t mean they run it.

We will not be intimidated by BigTech seeking to pressure our Parliament as it votes on our important News Media Bargaining Code. Just as we weren’t intimidated when Amazon threatened to leave the country and when Australia drew other nations together to combat the publishing of terrorist content on social media platforms.

I encourage Facebook to constructively work with the Australian Government, as Google recently demonstrated in good faith.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, said Mark Zuckerberg is behaving like North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un (right) by stopping access to independent news

Former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, said Mark Zuckerberg is behaving like North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un (right) by stopping access to independent news

Thursday’s news ban was spectacularly botched with organisations as diverse as health departments, domestic violence charities, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the country’s main source of weather information, the Bureau of Meteorology, banned from posting.  

Facebook said that was a mistake – but blamed the broad definition of news in the forthcoming laws. 

‘The actions we’re taking are focused on restricting publishers and people in Australia from sharing or viewing Australian and international news content,’ a spokeswoman said. 

‘As the law does not provide clear guidance on the definition of news content, we have taken a broad definition in order to respect the law as drafted. However, we will reverse any pages that are inadvertently impacted.’ 

Minister Fletcher has insisted the government will not back down and said the publisher could either abide by Australia’s laws or leave the country. 

The law passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday night and looks set to pass the Senate within days.  

CHANGES TO NEWS IN AUSTRALIA 

Facebook has restricted publishers and social media users in Australia from sharing or viewing Australian and international news content.

What does this mean for Australian news organisations?

Australian news organisations will be restricted from sharing or posting any content on Facebook Pages 

Admins will still be able to access Page insights and Creator Studio on their Facebook pages

Facebook said they will continue to provide access to other standard services, including data tools and CrowdTangle

What does this mean for international news organisations?

International news organisations can still post on Facebook but Australian users will not be able to see the content or share it 

What does this mean for Australian Facebook users?

Australian Facebook users will not be able to view or share Australian or international news content 

What does this mean for international Facebook users?

International Facebook users will not be able to view or share Australian news content on Facebook  

A release from the company says: ‘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.’

It adds: ‘We were prepared to launch Facebook News in Australia and significantly increase our investments with local publishers, however, we were only prepared to do this with the right rules in place.’

Facebook said Australian users will not be able read or share news content on the platform, and Australian news publishers will be restricted from posting or sharing content on Facebook pages.

Satirical news sites including the Betoota Advocate, The Shovel and The Chaser have been been caught up in Facebook’s ban on Australians sharing news.

Discussions between Mr Frydenberg and Mr Zuckerberg on Sunday led the former to believe a deal was imminent.

‘They are very focused on what’s happening here in Australia, but I sense they are also trying to reach deals, and that is welcome,’ Mr Frydenberg said.

A government-controlled senate committee has already recommended the new bargaining code, which affects digital platforms and news media, be passed.  

The move is a response to the country's proposed Media Bargaining law, which forces tech companies like Facebook and Google to negotiate with news providers to feature their content (pictured: A blank news site on Facebook)

The move is a response to the country’s proposed Media Bargaining law, which forces tech companies like Facebook and Google to negotiate with news providers to feature their content (pictured: A blank news site on Facebook)

Google has also threatened to shut down its search engine in the country to avoid ‘unworkable’ content laws. 

On Thursday, the search engine giant signed a global deal to pay for content from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp after Australian media companies negotiated terms with the tech giant. 

The Silicon Valley behemoth has been making hasty arrangements with Australian media firms after lawmakers said they would consider forcing Big Tech to pay for the content it reproduces on its platforms. 

Australia’s two largest free-to-air TV stations, Seven West Media and Nine Entertainment, have already reportedly struck deals with Google collectively worth $60million a year. 

News Corp said it would receive ‘significant payments’ from Google in its three-year agreement, which wraps in the Times and the Sun newspapers in the UK, the Wall Street Journal and New York Post in the US, and Sky News TV channel in Australia. 

The deal spans audio and video and News Corp will also get an ad revenue share from Google.

Scott Morrison (pictured) has also been involved in the talks - speaking to high-level executives at Google and Facebook

Scott Morrison (pictured) has also been involved in the talks – speaking to high-level executives at Google and Facebook

News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson thanked Australian officials in a statement, saying they ‘have stood firm for their country and for journalism’. 

Mr Frydenberg confirmed earlier on Wednesday that the state-owned Australian Broadcasting Corporation was also in negotiations and planned to spend any Google revenue on regional journalism.

‘There are negotiations going on with all the major players and the minor players at the moment,’ Mr Frydenberg said.

‘This will help sustain public interest journalism in this country for years to come.’

Mr Frydenberg said ‘none of these deals would be happening’ if not for proposed legislation to create a so-called News Media Bargaining Code.

Politicians were debating amended legislation to create the code in the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

‘Everything that I have heard from parties, both in the news media business and in terms of digital platforms, is that these are generous deals,’ Mr Frydenberg said.

‘These are fair deals. These are good deals. These are good deals for the Australian media businesses.’