Social media giant – Facebook has banned its Australian users from viewing and sharing news in its platform.
This Facebook made a formal announcement on the development on Thursday.
Facebook informed that it has blocked Australians from viewing and sharing news on its platform because the proposed laws in the country aims to make the social media giant pay for journalism.
“Australian publishers can continue to publish news content on Facebook, but links and posts can’t be viewed or shared by Australian audiences,” Facebook said in a statement.
“The proposed law fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it to share news content,” Facebook regional managing director William Easton said.
“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 added.
The move by Facebook came under severe criticism by a host of media outlets, politicians and human rights advocates in Australia.
“Facebook’s actions to unfriend Australia today, cutting off essential information services on health and emergency services, were as arrogant as they were disappointing,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
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