On August 31, Facebook issued a press release saying that if the ACCC’s draft code becomes law, they will no longer allow publishers or consumers to share any news on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook alleges that the regulation “misunderstands” the bargaining imbalance and ignores important facts. The ACCC released a statement the next day condemning Facebook’s threat to ban all news content. The ACCC reiterates that the Code is designed “to bring fairness and transparency” to the relationship between news publishers and Facebook. They further cited the University of Canberra’s 2020 Digital News Report, saying that 39 percent of Australians use Facebook for general news, and 49 percent use the platform for news about COVID-19. Read more here.
Members of the News/Media Alliance staff have contributed to this post.
