Facebook will now block users and publishers in Australia from sharing and viewing Australian and international content. Elsewhere, sharing content from Australian publishers is also prohibited.
Facebookâs New Look in Australia: News and Hospitals Out, Aliens Still In
The social networkâs decision to block journalism rather than pay for it erased more than expected, leaving many outraged and debating what should happen next.
Facebook eliminated not just Australian news content, but also pages for government agencies, nonprofits and political candidates.Credit.Saeed Khan/Agence France-Presse Getty Images
Published Feb. 18, 2021Updated Feb. 22, 2021
SYDNEY, Australia â A digitally savvy nation woke up Thursday to a shock on Facebook: The news was gone.
The social media giant had decided to block journalism in Australia rather than pay the companies that produce it under legislation now before Parliament, angering a country of arguers who had grown used to Facebook as a regular forum for politics or culture.