Facebook ‘not the place for credible news’

The Communications Minister says Facebook’s move to block news shows its true priorities.

Hello and welcome to The Download, The Australian’s technology blog for the latest tech news.

Chris Griffith 2pm: Mark Zuckerberg’s spectacular Facebook own goal

COMMENT: Facebook‘s action to ban not only news sites in Australia but some health news services, weather, indigenous media, charity, and utility sites albeit inadvertently shows it is both unreliable and unworthy as a channel for supplying important information to the public.

Facebook instead will become the home of fake news and conspiracy theories in Australia.

There will be a cost for news organisations, with fewer direct links to news posted on the platform in general feeds.

However the internet’s history is one of big players that regard themselves as the gateway to the internet and indispensable falling away over time and being replaced. Sites like MySpace, Yahoo and AOL (America Online) come to mind. AOL still bills itself as an American web portal but Americans are unlikely to agree.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was reported recently as wanting to “inflict pain” on Apple for its decision to require users to opt into app tracking on Apple mobile devices. Facebook stands to lose the ability to know what apps people use on Apple devices.

Perhaps Mr Zuckerberg similarly sees the banning of international and local news on Facebook in Australia as inflicting pain on news organisations for wanting a share of revenue for displaying news, and on the Australian public at large.

He doesn’t know the resolve of Australians.

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Joseph Lam 12.20pm: Facebook’s approach ‘clumsy’

Facebook has spat the dummy with a clumsy approach to handling new media bargaining codes, says the executive director of the Australian wing of a global initiative which counters digital threats to democracy.

RESET Australia’s Chris Cooper said Facebook’s response on Thursday shows a stark difference between itself and Google in their approach to new laws.

“Facebook is essentially spitting the dummy. Google did work with the government,” he said.

“Facebook are much more clumsy in their approach.”

Mr Cooper said the ban came at a time when critical emergency and health service pages was crucial.

“It really just highlights what little regard Facebook has for the Australian people,” he said.

David Swan 12pm: Facebook’s ‘astonishing decision’

Facebook’s decision to block news in Australia could have a devastating impact on the local tech industry, start-ups say.

Perkbox CEO Gautam Sahgal said Facebook’s move was an ‘astonishing decision’ that will have significant implications on news and marketing industries.

“It also sends a signal to other emerging global tech companies that the Australian government doesn‘t value innovation, tech, or giving a ‘fair go’ to all companies,” he said.

“When you consider this, the fallout for the broader technology sector is that it could discourage further expansions and investments into Australia, which will quickly lead to a halt on talent attraction and innovation.”

Mike Pritchett, founder and CEO, Shootsta said Facebook’s decision is remarkable and presuming it stays the course, will have a tectonic impact on the media and marketing landscape in Australia.

“This will be detrimental to newsrooms who likely source a decent portion of their traffic from Facebook. But it will impact marketing operations around the country too. Brands often use media articles as content for their social pages or alternatively promote news articles that feature their work. That’s especially the case with consumer-focused brands on Facebook and Instagram,” he said.

“Now, companies will need to redouble their efforts on creating their own content to fill the gaps. Obviously, we believe high-quality videos could easily fill this niche.

“This also speaks more broadly to the value of creating your own content as a brand. By owning content creation, you mitigate your risk of having your entire strategy turned on its head by the whims of a tech giant.”

Scott Purcell, the co-founder of small independent publisher Man of Many, said Facebook only made up less than 3% of his website’s overall traffic.

“As a publisher have always focused on mitigating any reliance on any one platform by growing our 'owned' audience such as our email newsletter. The decision is unlikely to impact upon Man of Many in any significant way but it will have a significant impact on many other smaller independent publishers who have been courted by Facebook to grow their audiences on the platform and consequently become very reliant on it to generate traffic,” he said.

“It has always been incredibly difficult for new players and publishers to build an audience on the platform since they made changes to their algorithm to focus on more personal news, but there are many other opportunities to grow an audience across other social platforms, through Google and SEO as well as producing unique and engaging content.”

Adeshola Ore 10.20am: Government ‘will not back down’

Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg says the Morrison government will not make tweaks to its proposed media bargaining code after Facebook banned Australias from sharing or viewing news in response to its news media bargaining code.

Senator Bragg said the government would not back down from its legislation which passed in the House of Representatives last night.

“I don’t think we’re going to have any changes in our plans.,” he told Sky News.

Senator Bragg, who was part of the six-person Senate standing committee which scrutinised the government‘s media bargaining code, added he was not surprised about Facebook’s decision.

“Throughout the senate committee process, I have to say, Facebook didn‘t exactly cover itself in glory... they effectively said news was of no value to them,” he said.

Joseph Lam 8.20am: Facebook bans news

Facebook has banned Australian users from viewing or sharing local and international news content on its website.
The decision comes after News Corp reached a historic three-year global licensing deal with Google which will see content from its publications worldwide including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post in the US, The Times of London, The Sun and News Corp Australia publications including The Australian, Sky News and metro dailies, shared in Google News Showcase.
Social media giant Facebook on Thursday (AEDT) announced its decision to ban both users and publishers from sharing or viewing news content, citing Australia’s proposed media bargain code which it said “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers”.
Facebook claims it was left with two options. “It has left us facing a stark choice: Attempt to comply with a law that ignores the realities of this relationship, or stop allowing news content on our services in Australia,” it said in a statement.
“With a heavy heart, we are choosing the latter.”
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher told Ben Fordham on 2GB that Facebook’s decision has sent a very strong message about its credibility.
“The decision they’re taking seems is that what they want to do is remove credible news sources from the platform,” he said.
“It basically says to Australians if you’re looking for credible news, Facebook isn’t the place to look for it.”
Mr Fletcher said the Australian government would meet to discuss Facebook’s decision and that Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg had already spoken to Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday.
Mr Fletcher and Mr Frydenberg are expected to hold a press conference later in the day.