Facebook in Australia

“The Australian parliament on Thursday passed a new law designed to force Alphabet Inc’s Google and Facebook Inc to pay media companies for content used on their platforms… The legislation was watered down, however, at the last minute after a standoff between the government and Facebook culminated in the social media company blocking all news for Australian users [for 5 days].” (Reuters)

“Facebook took particular issue with a baseball-style arbitration clause in Australia's new media code, which would see a government-appointed panel set the payout rate if the parties can't reach a deal… On Monday, the [Australian] government released four amendments to the media code. The amendments basically say that the new code, which is still expected to pass, may not apply to Facebook if it can broker enough deals with publishers… The government essentially gave Facebook more time to broker deals with publishers before the law takes effect.” (Axios)

The right is critical of Australia’s policy but also cautions against Facebook’s power over society.

The left supports the intent behind Australia’s policy but criticizes its execution and Facebook’s response.