NAIROBI, Kenya- Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook, is considering blocking news content on its platform in Australia if the government enforces licensing fees.
In a parliamentary hearing on Friday, Meta’s regional policy director, Mia Garlick, confirmed that “all options are on the table” regarding the potential news content block.
This move comes in response to Australia’s 2021 law, which allows the government to set fees U.S. tech companies must pay to media outlets for news links.
Garlick stated, “There’s a large number of channels that people can get news content from,” highlighting Meta’s stance on the diversity of news sources available to Australians.
In 2021, Meta struck deals with Australian media firms like News Corp and the Australian Broadcasting Corp when the law was introduced.
However, Meta has since announced that it will not renew these agreements beyond 2024.
The decision now lies with Australia’s assistant treasurer, who must determine whether to enforce the payment requirements on Meta.
Despite ongoing discussions, the assistant treasurer has noted that Meta appears to respect the law only when it suits its interests.
Interestingly, this situation mirrors Meta’s hard-line approach in Canada in 2023 when similar laws were enacted.
The potential blocking of news content on Facebook has significant implications for Australian media.
Australia’s two largest free-to-air television broadcasters, Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media, have already announced job cuts, attributing the loss of revenue to the expiration of their deals with Meta.
When asked if blocking news content in Australia would be considered sidestepping the law, Garlick responded that such action would actually be in compliance with it.
She emphasized that Meta complies with various laws, including tax, safety, and privacy regulations, but compliance with this particular law might look different if fully enacted.
Meta’s potential response could have widespread effects on both the platform’s users and the country’s media landscape and could set a precedent on how meta would handle conflicting policies when dealing with countries in the future.
