Facebook facing global backlash for “bullying and intimidation” in Australia

A former CEO of Facebook Australia and New Zealand has accused the social media giant of “bullying and intimidation” amid growing calls for a boycott following its decision to ban the sharing of news on its platform in Australia.

The site is also blocking Australian publishers from being seen by all Facebook users regardless of their location.

Stephen Scheeler said: “I’m a proud ex-Facebooker, but over the years I get more and more exasperated. For Facebook and Mark it’s too much about the money, and the power, and not about the good.” In particular, he was worried that banning established news outlets would make the spread of fake news on the site even worse.

Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister, issued a statement – ironically via Facebook post – calling Facebook’s actions “as arrogant as they are disappointing”. Morrison added: “These actions will only confirm the concerns that an increasing number of countries are expressing about the behaviour of BigTech companies who think they are bigger than governments and that the rules should not apply to them. They may be changing the world, but that doesn’t mean they run it.”

Facebook’s share price has fallen by around 2 per cent from its closing price on Wednesday.

Facebook’s dramatic and unprecedented decision comes following a prolonged argument with the Australian government over a proposed law to force big tech companies to pay for news they display on their sites. Under the proposed new law big tech companies would be forced to go through binding arbitration procedures with news providers to determine how much they would have to pay for articles shared on their networks.

Other provisions include a non-discrimination clause to ensure all publishers are treated equally and a requirement that publishers are notified in advance about algorithm changes that could affect search engine rankings or data collection. The law is expected to pass either this week or the next.

Facebook, which has long argued that the law would place an unfair burden on it, has now responded with this dramatic ban. In a statement issued yesterday William Easton, Managing Director of Facebook Australia and New Zealand, said: “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.”

Easton argues that news publishers in fact already benefited more from Facebook than Facebook did from them. “Last year Facebook generated approximately 5.1 billion free referrals to Australian publishers worth an estimated AU$407 million. For Facebook, the business gain from news is minimal. News makes up less than 4 per cent of the content people see in their News Feed.”

Still, neither the arguments nor the sudden move to block Australian news seems to have moved Australian politicians – and if anything may have strengthened their resolve.

Anger at Facebook has been further intensified by the vast number of non-news organisations caught up in the ban including a government site providing information about the pandemic, trade unions, and Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology.

Meanwhile, Google, which also stands to be affected by the law, has begun to take a more conciliatory approach. Having previously threatened to completely leave Australia, Google now seems to be hurrying to strike deals to pay for content on its own terms.

Most notably, Google yesterday announced it was striking a global deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to pay for its content, settling a long-running dispute which dates back to 2009. Google has also struck deals with other publishers in roughly a dozen countries. However, this is the first global deal – and the money being coughed up is said to be orders of magnitude larger.

The deal also seems to herald cooperation between News Corp and Google in other areas as well. In a statement on the deal News Corp said the agreements also included the development of a subscription platform, sharing revenue from Google’s ad technology services, and investments into videojournalism by YouTube. Indeed, some critics of the deal have expressed worries that it will provide News Corp with an unfair advantage over other media organisations.

Meanwhile, these events are being watched closely in both Europe and America where politicians are also contemplating similar laws to curb Big Tech’s power and support news publishers. After years of burgeoning Big Tech profits and declining margins in the traditional media the balance may be about to shift.