A source close to the minister said he saw Facebook blocking news groups' pages in Australia as a 'worrying development'. It comes after Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, hinted be also backed making social media firms pay for news. Mr Hancock said he was a 'great admirer' of the countries that are now trying to make the social media giant pay publishers when links to their stories are shared online. Canada has said it is also 'at the forefront of this battle' while Google has recently agreed to pay publishers in France for reusing snippets of their stories. Mr Hancock - who was briefly held the post under Theresa May - added that it was a matter for the current Current Secretary Oliver Dowden.

Source: The Nation February 22, 2021 02:48 UTC