Australian news is BACK on Facebook after the social media juggernaut sensationally tore down millions of posts and pages – as a historic new media law is passed
Facebook has reversed its controversial ban on Australian news a week after removing millions of posts as a new media law is passed by the government.
The landmark bill received the final tick of approval on Thursday when parliament’s lower house agreed to the government’s changes, which were made after negotiations with Facebook and Google.
It comes after a tumultuous battle between the Australian government and the tech giants who both threatened to limit services across the nation if the bill was passed.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg described it as a significant milestone.
‘This legislation will help level the playing field & see Australian news media businesses paid for generating original content,’ he tweeted on Thursday.
The social media platform was condemned by politicians and users around the world after it blocked 25million Australians from viewing and sharing news articles on February 18 amid a dispute about the terms of the code.
The ‘arrogant and disgraceful’ move – which also banned charity, health authority and emergency service pages – came after Australia’s ground-breaking news media bargaining code passed the lower house of Parliament on February 17.
Following talks with Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, the government made some last-minute changes to the law before it was finalised on Thursday which appeased the tech giant and convinced it to undo the ban.
More to come
