Facebook caught 'extorting' Aussie government to soften laws – AFR

Before the change, the laws would have specifically named Facebook and Google, making them negotiate with all news publishers. Facebook has since refused to deal with some significant news organisations including  SBS and The Conversation.In April smaller publishers, including Broadsheet, Australian Jewish News and Australian Chinese Daily, froze the publication of news on their platforms for 24 hours, urging readers to email Mr Frydenberg about the lack of accountability from Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, to negotiate with independent publishers.The Wall Street Journal article showed Facebook documents and testimony filed to authorities by whistleblowers that make it clear Facebook had planned to cause chaos, at a time when the government was attempting to get information out about COVID-19 vaccination plans.They also showed that Facebook employees were ignored when they raised concerns with management that services such as the Children’s Cancer Institute, Doctors Without Borders and fire and rescue services, were taken down without notice.“The code we are responding to is extremely broad, so guidance from the policy and legal team has been to be over inclusive and refine as we get more information,” the product manager in charge of the blocks said in internal communication.Facebook’s ban was a…
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