New York Daily News: Facebook bans news sharing in Australia over proposed law
Facebook said Wednesday that it has restricted the ability of Australian users to share or view news coverage on its platform, fighting back as the country’s lawmakers review a bill intended to force the company to pay for content from news outlets.
In a feisty blog post announcing the restrictions, Facebook said Australian news publishers will be banned from posting content, framing the move as a regrettable response to misguided draft regulations.
…
The American Economic Liberties Project, an anti-monopoly nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., trashed Facebook’s move.
“By censoring Australian publishers to maintain its advertising revenue, Facebook has shown it is a threat to democracies worldwide,” Matt Stoller, the organization’s research director, said in a statement. “Australia was first to suffer from the explicit wrath of this monopolist, but any other country could be next.”