Australians wake up to a resounding Facebook surprise and Prime Minister Scott Morrison's response.
Today, Thursday, Australians were surprised by their Facebook pages being empty of any news. After the app blocked all media content, in a sudden and major escalation of the dispute with the government over payment for the content.
The move drew criticism from news producers, politicians and human rights defenders. Especially after the site also deleted official health pages, emergency safety warnings, and social care networks.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison wrote on his Facebook page: “Facebook’s actions to cancel friendship with Australia today. Cut basic information on health and emergency services, arrogant and disappointing ”.
“These measures will only confirm the concerns that a growing number of countries are expressing about the behavior of major technology companies. Which thinks it is bigger than governments and that the rules should not apply to them ”.
Australian law requires Facebook and Google to enter into trade agreements with news sites. Or be subject to compulsory arbitration to agree to exchange for news content.
"Facebook" said in a statement, "The law that is expected to be approved by Parliament within days, greatly misunderstanding the relationship between it and publishers." Adding that he faced a difficult choice between compliance or blocking news content.
