Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on “An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors” in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC on October 23, 2019.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
Facebook on Wednesday announced that it will no longer allow publishers and users in Australia to share or view news articles in response to a new media law in the country.
With the new legislation, the Australian government seeks to require online platforms like Google and Facebook to pay news outlets for displaying and linking to their content.
Facebook said it has decided to restrict publishers and Australian users from sharing and viewing news content in response to the new law.
This means that Australian publishers will be restricted from posting news content on their Facebook pages. News stories from international publishers will not be viewable by Australian Facebook users. Australian users will not be able to share or view news stories on Facebook, and Facebook users worldwide will be unable to share or view news stories from Australian publishers.
Facebook’s decision to ban Australian news stories from its service stands in stark contrast to Google, which announced on Wednesday that it has struck a revenue-sharing agreement with News Corp. so it can continue displaying news story links from the company on its services.
The company said it will continue to provide Australian users with accurate information from its growing list of information hubs. The company will also continue to work with the Agence France-Presse and the Australian Associated Press as part of its fact-checking program.