FB threatens to block users, media from news sharing

Facebook yesterday threatened to block users and media organisations in Australia from sharing news stories in an escalating challenge to government plans to force digital giants to pay for content.

Australians would be stopped from posting local and international articles on Facebook and Instagram, the company said, claiming the move was "not our first choice" but the "only way to protect against an outcome that defies logic".

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Government officials quickly shot back, with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg rejecting what he called "coercion or heavy-handed threats" from the social media giant.

Rod Sims, head of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which drew up the draft law, called the threat "ill-timed and misconceived".

In one of the most aggressive moves by any government to curb the power of US digital giants, Canberra has drawn up legislation to force Facebook and Google to pay struggling local news organisations for content or face millions of dollars in fines.

The measures would also force transparency around the closely guarded algorithms that tech firms use to rank content.

Facebook Australia and New Zealand managing director Will Easton said the proposed overhaul "misunderstands the dynamics of the internet and will do damage to the very news organisations the government is trying to protect".

Google has also campaigned forcefully against the proposed changes, creating pop-ups on the search engine warning "the way Aussies use Google is at risk" and urging YouTubers around the world to complain to Australian authorities.

The legislation, due to be passed into law this year, will initially focus on Facebook and Google -- two of the world's richest and most powerful companies -- but could eventually apply to any digital platform.

The initiative has been closely watched around the globe as news media worldwide have suffered in an increasingly digital economy, where advertising revenue is overwhelmingly captured by Facebook, Google and other big tech firms.

The crisis has been exacerbated by the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with dozens of Australian newspapers closed and hundreds of journalists sacked in recent months.