Grow up Zuck, stop complaining and make a deal that’s fair to Aussie journos

If Donald Trump really wants to make America great again he should not listen to Mark Zuckerberg, who has complained Australian laws are targeting US tech titans unfairly.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg ignored Andrew Forrest’s requests to take down scam advertisements featuring his likeness, yet says a code requiring US tech titans to pay for media content they use is unfair. Picture: Manuel Orbegozo/Reuters

If Donald Trump really wants to make America great again he should not listen to Mark Zuckerberg.

If Trump reads this column he may take umbrage at an Aussie journalist telling him what he should do — but I hope he views it as tough — a trait shown to earn his admiration, or at least respect.

A powerful grouping, which represents the interest of US tech giants, including Zuckerberg and Musk, has accused Australia of unfairly targeting them through the News Media Bargaining Code.

The code compels social media platforms to compensate media companies for the content they use. After all, Trump wouldn’t give away rooms in his many hotels for free.

You pay for a service, and the code ensures that, with content from journalists also giving credibility to social media companies and keeping the average punter engaged.

It was a win/win. Media companies kept generating content, helping social media platforms continue to rake in billions of dollars in advertising revenue. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission found Meta generated $4.7bn and $5.1bn in Australian advertising revenue from Facebook and Instagram, respectively, in FY21-22.

Donald Trump admires tough talkers.

But, Zuckerberg has had an almighty dummy spit over the code. He walked away from it last year, with Meta also switching off its news tab. There was no appetite to strike a deal — the type Trump loves making — and now his whingeing smacks of weakness, behaviour Trump typically despises.

Responding to an invitation by US trade representative Jamieson Greer to identify “unfair trade practices by other countries,” the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which represents Zuckerberg and Elon Musk’s interests, lodged a 45-page submission on March 11 taking aim at Australia as well as a host of other nations.

It said the news media bargaining code costs them at least $140m a year to subsidise “local news businesses”. It may sound like MAGA language, but the alternative — Meta, a company worth $US1.48 trillion, using content crafted by Australian journalists for free — is another type of welfare, and Facebook and other tech giants don’t need a handout.

Yet, the CIAA criticised the code as a “coercive and discriminatory tax”.

Grow up Zuck.

Australian billionaire Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest has been the victim of five new scam ads published on Meta’s platforms every single day. Picture: Supplied

If you want quality content, pay for it like everyone else, and if you want Trump to get to know the “real” you, as you’ve indicated, make a deal that’s fair, and stop hiding behind your Meta Ray Ban glasses.

The CIAA whingeing to Trump is like running to daddy asking him to fix your mess.

How many Australians have been fleeced of their life savings because of Meta’s failure to take down scam advertisements? Last week, in a US court, Meta revealed since 2019 it has hosted about 230,000 scams featuring Andrew Forrest’s likeness on Facebook.

Twiggy attempted to nip this in the bud a decade ago, writing a letter to Zuckerberg asking him to take down the scams and has since argued Meta’s technology should be able to detect who is a legitimate advertiser and who is a criminal eager to make a quick buck from vulnerable Australians.

But, Zuckerberg ignored Twiggy’s letter. He didn’t attempt to make a deal to end this scourge and now, via the CIAA, is accusing Aussie media organisations of being unfair.

At least Twiggy has demonstrated tenacity and strength and is now suing Meta on its home turf in California in an effort to hold it to account, and he’s not hiding behind any lobby group.

After all, it’s the Australian way to tell it like it is.

Originally published as Grow up Zuck, stop complaining and make a deal that’s fair to Aussie journos