Posted on 02/18/2021 1:43:54 AM PST by RandFan
Facebook has blocked Australians from accessing and sharing news in protest at a new law which would have forced the site to pay for the content it hosts.
Furious Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the move shows tech companies 'think they are bigger than governments and that the rules should not apply to them' while others branded it 'an assault on a sovereign nation' and an 'abuse of power'.
The backlash quickly went international, with one Democrat politician in the US saying it shows 'Facebook is not compatible with democracy' while the hashtag 'Delete Facebook' quickly began trending on rival site Twitter.
Australians searching Facebook for news today were instead shown notifications saying 'no posts' were available. Attempting to share news links brought up a message saying 'this post can't be shared'.
But the shock move also stopped some government messages being shared, including from emergency services, while charities, foodbanks and at least one missing persons page also reported being caught up in the ban.
Prime Minister Morrison said: 'Facebook's actions to unfriend Australia today, cutting off essential information services on health and emergency services, were as arrogant as they were disappointing.'
'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.
'We will not be intimidated by BigTech seeking to pressure our Parliament.'
David Cicilline, a Democrat congressman and chair of the antitrust committee, added: 'Threatening to bring an entire country to its knees to agree to Facebook's terms is the ultimate admission of monopoly power.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I thoughr Facebook alreDy backed down?
Join Gab.
Article states......”threatening to bring an entire country to its knees to agree to Facebook’s terms is the ultimate admission of monopoly power.’
Yes.
Facebook has really stirred the nest, they really need to be taken down a peg or two.
Maybe I’m missing something here. Government offices in Australia were using Facebook to post public messages for various government services ... and they’re now accusing Facebook of “attacking a sovereign nation” for refusing to accept the terms for providing FREE service?
Facebook Share holders and Zuckerburgh are hand in glove with the globalist cartel....they’re showing the world the leverage of power they hold.
I have no love for Facebook, but maybe it’s the other way around — and government are trying to treat the company like a public utility?
It’s not about “terms of service”....it’s about displaying the leverage of political and monetary power they hold.
If your entire country can be “brought to its knees” by a disruption in a social media platform, you have a serious problem.
See post 9
We ride in that same boat in the US.
Exactly.
Didn’t this all start when the Australian government tried to force Facebook to pay for its content ... even though the government uses Facebook for free?
The “brought to its knees” comment was made by a dumbass democrat politician.
Australia should play hardball and block facebook from operating in the country until they backdown.
I patented the English language. You are no longer allowed to use it without my permission. If you do, I will assess a $10,000 fine per word. I am judge, jury and executioner. There is no appeal.
I am sure you will be fine with that since you use English and never paid a cent for its use.
A lot of government offices do this. Even here in the United States. Local fire, police, mayor’s office, your state representatives, governors and their agencies all use Facebook to get information out to the public.
If Facebook doesn’t want to allow public service announcements etc. on their platform that’s their business model. Consumers on the other hand have come to expect some level of community public service information through that channel.
Uh — whut?
Something about this is ludicrous ... and it ain’t Facebook.
This is the best part; “ The backlash quickly went international, with one Democrat politician in the US saying it shows ‘Facebook is not compatible with democracy’ while the hashtag ‘Delete Facebook’ quickly began trending on rival site Twitter.”
After all our outrage and cancelling of FB over censorship, now the leftist on Twitter are bashing FB. Sweet!
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