Facebook’s threat to ban news sharing in Australia rather than abide by a media bargaining code is an inflammatory overreaction, regional publishers say. https://t.co/FbR1oj5WPh A big debate in Australia at the moment on the News Media Bargaining Code – with Murdoch in one corner & Google and Facebook on the other. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg labelled the Facebook response coercion and said the reforms to digital platforms were world leading and thorough. “We don’t respond to coercion or heavy handed threats wherever they come from.”Private Media chairman Eric Beecher said Facebook’s decision meant the government’s “two-pronged bargaining code is left with just one prong, Google”. “It is highly disturbing to hear Google and Facebook describe ‘news’ as nothing more than a line item on a balance sheet.

Source: The Guardian September 03, 2020 02:29 UTC