As Australia takes on Facebook, can it get the rest of the world on its side?

Canberra wants the social media giant to pay for content, and PM Morrison is seeking support from the likes of India, Canada and France as it prepares to regulate big tech

While some see the new laws as also being politically motivated, Facebook’s decision to block Australian media outlets has revealed the extent of the company’s influence

Reading Time:4 minutes

A law that would force Facebook to pay for content could be passed as early as next week. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:02pm, 19 Feb 2021Updated: 6:02pm, 19 Feb 2021

As Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg held talks with the Australian government on Friday over a law that would force the social media giant to pay for content, Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggested there could be international support for Canberra’s efforts to regulate big tech and support journalism.

Morrison said he had raised the legislation – which could become law as early as next week after a Senate debate that begins on Monday – in a phone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He added that he had also spoken with his counterparts in France and Canada to seek their support for plans to make technology giants Google and Facebook pay media outlets, hit hard by plummeting advertising revenues, for the news shared on their platforms.

“There is a lot of world interest in what Australia is doing,” Morrison said on Friday, after Facebook dramatically blocked Australian users from viewing and sharing news content on its site, and prevented Australian publishers’ pages from being viewed by global users.

Dr Belinda Barnet, senior lecturer in media at Swinburne University in Melbourne, said Australia’s position reflected a growing acknowledgement around the world that platforms such as Facebook were in fact publishers, which was “the very last thing they want to admit”.

Tai Neilson, media lecturer at Macquarie University in Sydney, said a turning point had been reached in attitudes about the need to regulate big tech.

“The problems of governing tech giants like Facebook and Google are not particular to Australia, they are global,” he said. “That’s why much of the world is watching the current battle between the Australian government and Facebook.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg held talks with the Australian government on Friday. Photo: AP

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x