News Media Bargaining Code: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Mark Zuckerberg in crisis talks

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has been called a ‘dummy-spitting, out of touch CEO’ after the tech giant blocked news content for Australian users.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has spent another day in crisis talks with Facebook after it made the shock move to ban news content for Australian users.

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg spoke with Mr Frydenberg again on Friday about the dispute over new laws that would require tech giants to pay for news on their platforms.

“We talked through their remaining issues and agreed our respective teams would work through the immediately,” Mr Frydenberg wrote on Twitter.

“We’ll talk again over the weekend.”

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will speak with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to try to resolve the dispute. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

He said the government remained committed to implementing the News Media Bargaining code, which is expected to pass through the Senate next week.

Prior to the conversation, Mr Frydenberg said the tech giant’s tactic to block news content was “heavy-handed” and would damage the reputation of Facebook in Australia.

Scott Morrison also issued some stern advice to Facebook saying if you want to do business in Australia, “you work according to our rules”.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said the decision to block news content on Thursday was the act of a “dummy-spitting, rich, out of touch CEO”.

“It shows the arrogance within the organisation,” Mr Dutton told Today.

“All we are asking them to do is to pay for it and we have had this dummy spit.

“It is unacceptable.”

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Mr Zuckerberg is ‘out of touch’. Picture: The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images

Mr Dutton confirmed that Prime Minister Scott Morrison had also asked world leaders – including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – to stand up to the tech giant.

“The size of Facebook now is about the size of the Australian economy, and so these people have a very special responsibility,” he said.

Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles said the government needed to continue talking to Facebook.

“But it’s ultimately important that … the government comes up with an outcome which is workable for Australians because we don’t want the platforms to obviously leave,” Mr Marles said.

His comments were more placid then his leader, Anthony Albanese, who blasted Facebook’s actions as “completely reprehensible”.

“Facebook has been quite rightly condemned, not just here in Australia, but around the world for showing the amount of corporate power that it has, and abusing that power,” Mr Albanese said.