Facebook unfriends Australia: uproar as news pages go dark – The Zimbabwe Mail thezimbabwemail.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thezimbabwemail.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Action escalates dispute over planned Australian law Law would require Facebook to share revenues from news (Adds Facebook comment about Frydenberg call, details on enforcement)
SYDNEY, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Facebook faced backlash from publishers and politicians on Thursday after blocking news feeds in Australia in a surprise escalation of a dispute with the government over a law to require it to share revenue from news.
Facebook wiped out pages from Australian state governments and charities as well as from domestic and international news organisations, three days before the launch of a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination programme.
Though the measure was limited to Australia, European publishers along with British and Canadian politicians described it as an attempt to put pressure on governments that might consider similar measures.
Australia's prime minister called on Facebook to lift its news blockade in the country and negotiate deals with media outlets. He said that other countries could soon adopt its model in making tech giants pay for news.