Meta Platforms Inc. META has issued a warning to the Australian government. The company is considering blocking news content from its platform in Australia if it is required to pay licensing fees.
What Happened: Meta’s regional policy director, Mia Garlick, made this statement during a parliamentary hearing on Friday, reported Reuters.
“There’s a large number of channels that people can get news content from,” Garlick told the inquiry.
The company is awaiting the Australian government’s decision on whether it will enforce a 2021 law that allows it to set the fees that U.S. tech giants must pay media outlets for sharing their links.
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Garlick emphasized that Meta had taken a similar approach in Canada in 2023 when the country introduced similar laws. Meta initially reached agreements with Australian media companies, including News Corp and the Australian Broadcasting Corp, when the law was implemented in Australia. However, the company has since announced that it will not renew these agreements after 2024.
Australia’s major free-to-air broadcasters, Nine Entertainment, and Seven West Media, announced job cuts this week, attributing the losses to the impending expiration of their deals with Meta.
When asked if blocking news would sidestep the law, Garlick stated that such action would comply with it, noting that Meta adheres to various laws including tax, safety, and privacy regulations.
Why It Matters: The decision to block news content in Australia would be a significant move for Meta, which has been facing increased scrutiny from the Australian government. In March, the company announced that it would stop compensating news publishers for their content on Facebook in Australia, France, and Germany.
The Australian government has been calling for an inquiry into the operations of major social media platforms like Facebook, ByteDance‘s TikTok, and Elon Musk-owned X.
The government has been expressing concerns over the lack of regulation and oversight on social media platforms, particularly their handling of violent content and their withdrawal from paying for news.
The government’s stance underscores the ongoing debate over the balance between free speech and content regulation, a topic that has also seen Musk embroiled in legal disputes with Australia and Brazil over content restrictions.
Image Via Shutterstock
This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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