Published 11:53 IST, February 18th 2021
Facebook banned its own page while blocking Australians from viewing and sharing news
Facebook on Feb 18, began preventing Australian news sites from posting while also stopping Australian users from sharing news content.
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Facebook on February 18, began preventing Australian news sites from posting while also stopping Australian users from sharing or viewing content from news outlets. The blockage came after the Scott Morrison government announced News Media Bargaining Code that would require the social media giant to pay to the news outlets. However, the ban backfired on the social media giant itself as in the process it blocked its own page.
Wait. Did Facebook block its own Facebook page in Australia as part of the news ban!?! pic.twitter.com/OlwlDKlcYI
— 🦆Tristan Gulyas 🦆 (@evilZardoz) February 18, 2021
Facebook has banned Facebook's own Facebook page pic.twitter.com/bvZGRaO77H
— Andrew Brown (@AndrewBrownAU) February 17, 2021
Government pages blocked
Additionally, the Facebook ban also temporarily put the country at a standstill as users were barred access to pages of Meteorology Bureau, state health departments, unions, several political leaders, hospitals and charities for several hours. Country’s main source of weather information, the Bureau of Meteorology, said on Thursday morning that it had been blocked, and was advising users to go to its direct website, app or Twitter page.
Pages of state health departments- SA Health and Queensland Health- were also banned from posting their updates on COVID-19 vaccination drive. Speaking to reporters, Health Minister Greg Hunt said he was “profoundly shocked” that health organisations, including Bowel Cancer Australia and the Kids Cancer Project, had been affected. Calling it a “disgrace”, he urged Facebook to fix it at the earliest.
The ban also hit emergency services. The Western Australian Department of Fire and Emergency Services’ page was stripped of content. Meanwhile, an account of Western Australia’s leader Zak Kirkup was blocked just a few days before the state is scheduled to hold its elections. Amongst others who were banned include Cricket Australia and Australian Council of Trade Unions. Most of the pages, including that of state health departments, were restored by afternoon.
Facebook ban
Facebook announced Thursday it has blocked Australians from viewing and sharing news on the platform because of proposed laws in the country to make digital giants pay for journalism. Australian publishers can continue to publish news content on Facebook, but links and posts can't be viewed or shared by Australian audiences, the US-based company said in a statement. Australian users cannot share Australian or international news. International users outside Australia also cannot share Australian news.
11:53 IST, February 18th 2021