The social network prevents access to media content, including pages in the fields of health and welfare • The move comes amid the company's litigation with the Australian government that required it to pay for news
Surprisingly: Facebook has blocked content in Australia
Photo:
Reuters
Facebook and the Australian government - head to head:
During the night (Thursday) the Reuters news agency reported that the social network blocked Australian content pages following the local law that would require the company to pay media networks for content they stream to it.
According to the Reuters report, Facebook's unusual move received harsh criticism from media, politicians and human rights activists after it became clear that the pages removed also included health and welfare pages, as well as safety and emergency alerts.
"Facebook has made a mistake and its unnecessary actions will damage its reputation here," Australian Finance Minister Josh Friedenberg said during a press conference.
According to him, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not warn that he intends to make the move during their talk this week about the effects of Australian law on Facebook and the search engine giant Google. The latter, who also threatened to block content in Australia, announced a few days ago that it would start paying for content.
This is UNACCEPTABLE.
Demand for food relief has never been higher than during this pandemic, and one of our primary comms tools to help connect people with #foodrelief info & advice is now unavailable.
Hours matter when you have nothing to eat.
SORT THIS OUT!
#facebooknewsban.
pic.twitter.com/xYVnrKQQeF
- Brianna Casey (@ briannacasey1) February 18, 2021
Some of the blocked pages were restored by the government, but the pages of welfare organizations and media sites remained under restriction.
One of the critics of Facebook's move is Brianna Casey, head of the charity Podbank, who tweeted: "The demand for food aid has never been as high as during the Corona plague, and one of our main tools helping people connect with information and advice is not available now."
Reuters reported that Human Rights Watch commented on the matter and in an official statement said it was a "worrying and dangerous turn".
The organization added: "Disconnecting an entire country from accessing vital information is unacceptable."
