Facebook news ban sees emergency services, public information pages wiped
Facebook’s actions to “unfriend” Australia was “as arrogant as they were disappointing” PM Scott Morrison said.
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Facebook’s actions to “unfriend” Australia by cutting off essential information services was “as arrogant as they were disappointing” Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said.
Mr Morrison said Facebook’s ban on news and information content in Australia has confirmed concerns being expressed in an “increasing number of countries” about the behaviour of major tech companies.
“They may be changing the world, but that doesn’t mean they should run it,” he said.
“We will not be intimidated by this act of bullying by BigTech, seeking to pressure parliament as it votes on our important News Media Bargaining Code.
Mr Morrison said he was in “regular contact” with the leaders of other nations on the issues.
“We simply won’t be intimidated, just as we weren’t when Amazon threatened to leave the country and when Australia drew other nations together to combat the publishing of terrorist content on social media platforms,” he said.
“I encourage Facebook to constructively work with the Australian Government, as Google recently demonstrated in good faith.”
It comes as Health Minister Greg Hunt said Facebook’s “outrageous” abuse of power was harming Australians’ ability access critical medical information.
Mr Hunt said the social media’s decision to block pages including Bowel Cancer Australia and Kids Cancer Project was “unacceptable” and can never happen again.
“We expect that Facebook will fix these actions immediately and never repeat them again,” he said.
“This is an assault on a sovereign nation.
“It is an assault on people’s freedom and, in particular, it is an utter abuse of big technologies market power and control over technology.”
Mr Hunt accused Facebook of putting “profit over people”
“We say to Facebook, stop this now and perhaps it is time to put people over profit,” he said.
‘NOT BACKING DOWN’: FACEBOOK SLAMS NEWS PURGE
Facebook’s shock removal of all news content from its platform in Australia was “wrong” and “heavy-handed” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says.
Mr Frydenberg said the federal government had no warning from Facebook before it barred news organisations and some government pages, including health departments.
“What today’s events do confirm for all Australians is the immense market power of these media digital giants,” he said.
“These digital giants loom very, very large in our economy and on the digital landscape.”
Mr Frydenberg said the government remained committed to passing its media bargaining code and would not be “intimidated” by Facebook.
“Facebook’s actions … will damage its reputation here in Australia,” he said.
“Their decision to block Australians’ access to government sites – be they about support through the pandemic, mental health, emergency services, the Bureau of Meteorology – were completely unrelated to the media code which is yet to pass through the Senate.”
Communication Minister Paul Fletcher said the government does not “accept” Facebook’s excuse for removing government and other information sites because the law was too broad.
“If there’s some misunderstanding, we’re happy to work through and clarify that, but the provisions of the code are very clear,” he said.
“The code is not in law yet, so the argument that they had no choice but to do this because of the breadth of the definition of “news”, the code is not yet in the law, so it raises an obvious question, why are they doing this now?”
Mr Frydenberg said the Morrison government would not back down from its media bargaining code despite Facebook’s purge of news content.
He spoke to Facebook chief executive this morning Mark Zuckerberg about “different interpretations” about the code.
“With respect to Facebook, they’ve made their actions pretty plain today. We’ll see if we can reach some clarifications and get them back to the table and keep them providing their service here in Australia. But our commitment, our number one commitment, is to legislate this code.
“The eyes of the world are watching what’s happening here in Australia in real time.”
PUBLIC PAGES COLLATERAL DAMAGE
Public pages carrying warnings on COVID outbreaks, fires, severe weather and vital social services including family violence have become collateral damage under Facebook’s Australian news ban.
Several Australian emergency services including Fire and Rescue NSW had their content wiped, while national sexual assault and domestic violence services Stopping Family Violence, 1800 RESPECT, and homelessness groups like Mission Australia, were also hit.
Public pages on the platform including the Bureau of Meteorology, Neighbourhood Watch, ACT, South Australia and Queensland Health — which warn the public about COVID outbreaks, severe weather and crime — also had their content wiped.
Fire, health and meteorological services around the country were all experiencing problems with their Facebook pages, which are used to issue emergency warnings.
The Western Australia fire department’s Facebook page was also emptied as the state braced for catastrophic fire danger conditions.
Environment Minister Sussan Ley tweeted the government’s Bureau of Meteorology’s page “has been impacted by the sudden Facebook news content restrictions”, urging people to visit the website.
Major news organisations including News Corp and local community news pages were also blank along with electronics retailer Harvey Norman, AFL Women, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre.
Facebook also banned its own Facebook page.
Among the sites wiped out were a large number of women’s and family-based charities, including the Pink Elephants Support Network, Australia’s top early pregnancy loss support charity.
The group support thousands of Australian couples every year, and its closed Facebook page is often the first point of call for the people they support.
The news ban has outraged Australians, with many slamming the company’s decision to block content ahead of the nation’s vaccine rollout, when communities will be reliant not only on local news but local Facebook groups that share their information.
So Facebook, we’re a charity which tries to help people learn to protect themselves from becoming victims of crime & connect with their community by provide tips & advice. Your #facebooknewsban has sent our page dark too. Why? #FacebookAustralia #FacebookWeNeedToTalk
— Neighbourhood Watch (@nhwvic) February 17, 2021
So @Facebook has unfortunately disabled our page this morning. We are not a news outlet. We are a wildlife charity.
— Australian Wildlife Conservancy (@awconservancy) February 17, 2021
We are working to resolve this issue. Please support us by opting to stay up to date via our eNews: https://t.co/LTBo52aofD pic.twitter.com/QnTAbZsCv0
So @Facebook has blocked access to our website. We are not a news organisation. Australian workers can not now find out about their rights at work via @Facebook. This is disgraceful & needs to be reversed immediately pic.twitter.com/588Qf1JbuD
— Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) February 17, 2021
Thousands have turned to Twitter to call out Facebook’s ability to ban factual sites and vital public information pages so rapidly, while conspiracy theories, hate groups, sexist content and other disturbing material continues to proliferate on its platform.
Controversial MP Craig Kelly, who has been criticised for sharing misinformation about COVID-19, still has an active page as does chef Pete Evan’s Evolve Network.
Facebook has indicated it will try to reinstate the posts of government pages, including for health departments and weather services.
In a statement a Facebook spokesman said government pages “should not be impacted” by the ban.
“The actions we are taking are focused on restricting the publishers and people in Australia from sharing or viewing Australian and international news content,” he said.
“As the law does not provide clear guidance on the definition of news content, we have taken a broad definition in order to respect the law as drafted.
“However, we will reverse any pages that are inadvertently impacted.”
So Facebook can instantly block @abcperth @6PR @BOM_au @BOM_WA AND @dfes_wa in the middle of the #bushfire season, but they can't take down murderous gun crime videos?
— Madeleine King MP (@MadeleineMHKing) February 17, 2021
Incredible. Unbelievable. Unacceptable. The arrogance.
so... Facebook have cancelled the women, but the men are still there... #womeninsport @outersanctum01 @aflwomens pic.twitter.com/jrba6Rt280
— Pep (@PepPhelan) February 17, 2021
The move by Facebook comes with Australia poised to adopt legislation that would force digital platforms to pay for news content.
Facebook’s move contrasted with Google, which in recent days has brokered deals with media groups, including one announced earlier in the day with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., in response to the regulatory push.
Facebook’s news partnerships head Campbell Brown said in a tweet that the company acted reluctantly to block news content for Australian users.
FACEBOOK PAGES IMPACTED BY THE BAN INCLUDE:
Community services
Pink Elephants Support Network
Neighbourhood Watch
National Debt Helpline
1800Respect
Australian Women Against Violence Alliance
Stopping Family Violence
Bravehearts (child protection)
Sacred Heart Mission
Council to Homeless Persons
Mission Australia
DVConnect
Hobart Women’s Shelter
Small Steps 4 Hannah
Emergency
Fire and Rescue NSW
Australian Rescue Helicopter Services
Government
Bureau of Meteorology – all states
Department of Fire & Emergency Services – WA
Queensland Health
SA Health
ACT Health
ACT Government
TransLink QLD
Brisbane City Council
Western Sydney Health
SA Government
Tasmanian Government
Several MPS including Mark Pearson MLC
Edward River Council
Health
Sutherland Shire Family Services
Sydney Local Health District
St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne
Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
The Medical Journal of Australia
Charities
Australian Wildlife Conservancy
WWF Australia
UNICEF Australia
Médecins Sans Frontières Australia
Satire news
Betoota Advocate
The Chaser
The Shovel
Arts
Sydney Theatre Company
Blue Mountains Cultural Centre
Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Christian Media & Arts Australia
Sport
AFL Womens
Queensland Rugby League
Commercial
Harvey Norman
Motorola
Finder
Domain
Realestate.com.au
RACQ
Energex
Virgin Australia
Education
Monash University
Bond University
Charles Darwin University
University of New England
The University of Newcastle
The Medical Journal of Australia
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