Facebook blocks Australian publishers and users from reading news

Facebook announced on Thursday morning in Australia that it will restrict publishers and Facebook users in Australia from sharing local and international news on their Facebook pages and accounts, in a direct response to the News Media Bargaining Code, under which the Australian government seeks to force Facebook and Google to pay for news content they display on their platforms.

William Easton, the social media giant’s Australian and New Zealand managing director, made the announcement in a blog post on the Facebook website.  

“The proposed law fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it to share news content. It has left us facing a stark choice: attempt to comply with a law that ignores the realities of this relationship, or stop allowing news content on our services in Australia. With a heavy heart, we are choosing the latter.”

Facebook says that the law fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between their platform and publishers who use it to share news content.

The move will also prevent people overseas from sharing Australian news content.  

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg spoke to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday morning to discuss the impact of the sudden move to quash news for Australia users. He described the conversation as “very cordial” and “very constructive”.

“We want them to remain in Australia, but we also want them to pay for original content,” he said. “Yes, there are some differences, but let’s see if we can work them through.”

Starts at 60 founder and CEO Rebecca Wilson said the move was disappointing and would hurt small publishers that relied on the social media platform to reach their audiences.

“We have more than 700,000 Facebook followers who rely on Facebook to interact with our content and community daily,” she said. “It is sad and frustrating, but today we’re asking for our readers’ help to make the best of a difficult situation.”

Starts at 60 has a thriving email program that delivers daily news and feature content, travel deals, and special offers from the Sassy Marketplace for those who sign up.

“Our news emailers are sent out direct from the Starts at 60 Newsroom twice a day and they’re packed with all the content we know our audience loves to read, including breaking news, finance, travel, health, entertainment and lifestyle,” she said. “Plus, you’ll see real-life stories from our community of over 400 over-60s bloggers who are the bedrock of our company.”

You can sign up for the Starts at 60 emails here.

One of the biggest changes for Starts at 60 readers will be how they interact with other readers and comment on stories. While previously most readers relished the opportunity to comment on Facebook posts, Wilson is asking readers to instead write their comments directly on Starts at 60 articles on the website instead.

“Every article on our website has a commenting section at the bottom of the page. Once readers have signed in all they have to do is scroll to the bottom of the page and share their comment there. They’ll see comments from other readers too, and just like on Facebook, they can reply to each other and start conversations together.

“This move from Facebook is an inconvenience, but we won’t let it hamper our important role in serving over-60s online with great news daily. So please, join us on our website as a member.”

Other publishers have also criticised the social media giant, with The Australian calling the decision to block news “incredibly irresponsible”.

“It’s an astonishing abdication of responsibility for a platform that a sizeable percentage of the Australian population who use Facebook, and rely on it for their daily news and information,” David Swan wrote for the paper on Thursday.

Don’t forget to sign up for Starts at 60 emails here.