Facebook Threatens to Block All News Sharing on Its Platforms in Australia

Facebook has said it will stop users in Australia from sharing news on the social network if a proposed law from the country's competition regulator comes into force that would require it to pay local media companies for their content (via CNET).

facebook
The threat comes after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) submitted a draft regulatory code that would "address the bargaining power imbalances between Australian news media businesses and digital platforms" and allow Australian news publications to "negotiate for fair payment for their journalist's work."

If the proposed regulation becomes law, technology companies like Facebook and Google will have three months to negotiate with Australian media organisations. 

In a blog post on Tuesday, Facebook Australia and New Zealand's managing director Will Easton pushed back against the draft regulation, claiming that the code "misunderstands the dynamics of the internet and will do damage to the very news organisations the government is trying to protect."

Assuming this draft code becomes law, we will reluctantly stop allowing publishers and people in Australia from sharing local and international news on Facebook and Instagram. This is not our first choice – it is our last. But it is the only way to protect against an outcome that defies logic and will hurt, not help, the long-term vibrancy of Australia’s news and media sector.

[...]

The ACCC presumes that Facebook benefits most in its relationship with publishers, when in fact the reverse is true. News represents a fraction of what people see in their News Feed and is not a significant source of revenue for us. Still, we recognize that news provides a vitally important role in society and democracy, which is why we offer free tools and training to help media companies reach an audience many times larger than they have previously.  

In a statement given to CNET, ACCC Chair Rod Sims said Facebook's threat was "ill-timed and misconceived."

"The draft media bargaining code aims to ensure Australian news businesses, including independent, community and regional media, can get a seat at the table for fair negotiations with Facebook and Google," said Sims.

"Facebook already pays some media for news content. The code simply aims to bring fairness and transparency to Facebook and Google's relationships with Australian news media businesses."

In a move possibly related to the ACCC's draft code, Facebook has sent a notification to all users, explaining that its terms of service will be updated from October 1 to allow it to remove or restrict access to any content it thinks could cause the social media company legal problems.

Google also opposes the draft regulation, and sent an open letter to the ACCC claiming that it would put the free services that it offers users at risk. The ACCC responded by saying the letter "contains misinformation" and said that "a healthy news media sector is essential to a well-functioning democracy." It also noted that charging users is not a requirement of the draft regulation, and if Google chose to go down that route, it would be Google's choice alone.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...

Top Rated Comments

farewelwilliams Avatar
63 months ago
should just block all users from using the platform. that would be great.
Score: 62 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Floop Avatar
63 months ago
Excellent. This is a win-win for everybody. Facebook is a horrible company, and using Facebook to get your "news" is terrible. So if Facebook want to stop people sharing "news" on their platform, that would be great! Instead we can just have holiday pictures and ads I will never click on.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
63 months ago
Blocking news on Facebook would be marvelous, and not just in Australia & New Zealand.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
George Dawes Avatar
63 months ago
I was banned by Facebook over a trivial location issue , they wanted me to scan in my passport as proof of ID , which is a ridiculous level of intrusion imo . Twitter is just as bad . Best avoided
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DBZmusicboy01 Avatar
63 months ago
Facebook can go... you know ?
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SBlue1 Avatar
63 months ago
Facebook pays big news organizations for news? Ok. Facebooks doesn't pay the small media? Ok. So the government steps in and forces Facebook to pay them too and Facebook cries? Ok. I don't use Facebook, and in general don't think social media should be someones only source of news, but I think if Facebooks generates income from the work news organizations put in they should pay.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)