Australia-Facebook Jousting: How Will News Be Funded & Shared
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Facebook has started to restrict the sharing of news on its service in Australia, defying a controversial proposed Australian law that would require technology companies to pay publishers when their articles are posted by users. On the other hand, News Corp. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google reached a three-year agreement in which the search giant will pay for news. Much remains to be seen how this will play out, for it will impact how news will be shared and funded not just in Australia, but also rest of the world. So, the eyes of the world are on Australia and Facebook.
What is Facebook without news? People and publishers in Australia are now finding out. Facebook (FB) has barred Australians from finding or sharing news on its service, a dramatic escalation of a fight with the government that may have wide-ranging consequences both in the country and around the world. The social networking company on Wednesday said that people and publishers in Australia will no longer be able to share or see any news from local or international outlets. The decision appears to be the most restrictive move Facebook has ever taken against content publishers. The company’s action comes after months of tension with the Australian government, which has proposed legislation that would force tech platforms to pay news publishers for content. CNN’s Brian Stelter reports, in the video published on Feb. 18, 2021, “Facebook bans news in Australia as fight with government escalates“, below:
Facebook’s response to Australia’s proposed tech law, by Campbell Brown, Facebook VP of Global News Partnership, “What the proposed law introduced in Australia fails to recognize is the fundamental nature of the relationship between our platform and publishers…Contrary to what some have suggested, Facebook does not steal news content. Publishers choose to share their stories on Facebook.”
According to the research at Oxford University, 75% of Australians get their news from social media. 81% of the advertising dollars are spent on Facebook and Google.
President of Microsoft (remember Bing is part of Microsoft), Brad Smith, remarked, “You cannot have a healthy democracy without healthy journalism. And we all depend on having a healthy democracy and that means we all depend on having healthy journalism. And so we saw this Australian proposal as an opportunity to step in and stand up for what we think is not just good business for Microsoft, but really a good cause for Australia and the world.”
Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, responded to all of this, via his Facebook page of all places, “They may be changing the world, but that doesn’t mean they run it.”
For the sake of healthy democracy and healthy business, the discussion in how the news will be shared and funded need to be made. It would be wise for Facebook to come up with an agreeable scheme for all parties involved (original content producer, content organizer-writer-sharer, and the platform on which the news or posts are being shared), at an agreeable ratio for the split of the ad dollars, because there will always be competing platforms and competing content providers. It simply makes good business sense to keep all parties involved happy.
Australia’s government is slamming Facebook’s decision to block users in the country from all news content on its platform. Parliament is expected to pass a new media bill that would require platforms like Google and Facebook to pay news outlets for displaying and linking to their content. Facebook launched a pre-emptive strike against the proposed bill, blocking news content, in the video published on Feb. 18, 2021, “Facebook bans news content in Australia over proposed law“, below:
People have been responding to Facebook blocking its users in Australia from sharing news, in response to a proposed law which would make technology companies pay for news content on their platform. The Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, said his government will not be intimidated by Facebook, describing the move to “unfriend Australia” as arrogant and disappointing. Users found the Facebook pages of all local and global news sites unavailable, and several government health and emergency pages were also blocked. Facebook later asserted this was a mistake and many of these pages are now back online. Both Google and Facebook have fought the law, saying it unfairly “penalizes” their platforms. However, in contrast to Facebook, Google has in recent days signed payment deals with major Australian media outlets, in the video published on Feb. 18, 2021, “Australia vs Facebook and Google – what’s the row about? – BBC News“, below:
Facebook said it will no longer allow publishers and users in Australia to share or view news on its platform. “Facebook was wrong. Facebook’s actions were unnecessary. They were heavy handed and they will damage its reputation here in Australia,” said Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg at a media briefing on Thursday, in the video published on Feb. 18, 2021, “Australia slams Facebook’s move to block news amid new media bill“, below:
#Facebook has blocked news content from its platform in #Australia in response to government plans to make digital giants pay for #journalism. The bill is still being debated by the Australian Senate, which needs to pass it before it becomes law. The new rules are designed to help fund news organizations, who have been cutting jobs and scaling back operations in recent years. Also today, Air France-KLM says thousands more job cuts are to come after the airline group reported losses of more than €7 billion for 2020, in the video published on Feb. 18, 2021, “Facebook blocking news in Australia: What state is the media industry in?” below:
My question here is: Did Facebook ever tried to negotiate with the Australian government as Google did?
The question remains: how will news be financed now that majority of the public are getting their news via social media platforms. Some may feel that it is time for Facebook and Google to pay up while others may feel that lawmakers are trying to shake down Facebook and Google.
For the sake of healthy democracy and healthy business, the discussion in how the news will be shared and funded need to be made. It would be wise for Facebook to come up with an agreeable scheme for all parties involved (original content producer, content organizer-writer-sharer, and the platform on which the news or posts are being shared), at an agreeable ratio for the split of the ad dollars, because there will always be competing platforms and competing content providers. It simply makes good business sense to keep all parties involved happy.
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
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