News Analysis: What Australia's stoush with Facebook means for future of Big Tech
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E-mail Xinhua, February 26, 2021
SYDNEY, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Facebook's decision to ban news access for Australian users was reversed this week, following intensive negotiations with local government authorities which resulted in a change to proposed laws.
News content was reinstated on Facebook for Australians starting Friday, in what both parties hailed as an amicable resolution -- but what others said more closely resembled a hostage negotiation.
Some believe the decision by the social media giant to use its considerable clout to directly pressure Australian decision-makers is just one instance of a looming power struggle between government and Big Tech.
Professor Matt Warren, director of the RMIT University Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation, told Xinhua that the way Facebook went about getting what it wanted has tarnished its reputation globally.
"The fact that they threatened the elected governments to try to put over their point of view, I think, has backfired for them completely. And I think many governments around the world will be disappointed," Warren said.
"I think many users of Facebook will also be disappointed and there's now a number of campaigns to boycott Facebook. So I think this is going to have the start of a long-term impact upon Facebook," he said.
The ban took most Australians by surprise as they woke up one morning to find news sources suddenly removed from their feeds, highlighting for many the tech giant's grip on the lives of users and willingness to leverage that grip how it sees fit.
Beyond the millions of Australians who use social media to access news and information, the development stirred deeper concerns about Facebook's other business practices, including the collecting of user data.
"This issue raises some general questions about what role digital platforms play in our society," said Associate Professor Carsten Rudolph from the Department of Software Systems and Cybersecurity at Monash University.
"We need to be clear that they are commercial entities relying on a business model, whilst using exploitative data mining tactics," he said.
The issue of news content appearing for free on Facebook goes deeper than media companies simply not being paid for the work that they generate.
Many experts have argued that if traditional media are weakened -- or as occurred temporarily in Australia this week, removed entirely -- it opens up space for misinformation to spread and be more easily passed off as authoritative.
"I think certainly the problem you have is if traditional media play a lesser role, you're going to have a greater risk for misinformation, and fake news being put forward through platforms like Facebook, as if they are legitimate news sources," Warren said.
"For me that's one of the biggest concerns I have is by weakening traditional trusted media, you increase the risk of platforms, such as Facebook, having more misinformation and fake news portrayed as being actual news," he said.
Warren explained that Facebook's decision to leverage the Australian government was based on protecting its profitability, and that those concerns extended well beyond just Australia.
"Facebook's facing problems with a whole number of countries around the world. Australia proposed this new media code that the tech giants have to pay for content that they use some Australian companies, but that model is also being put forward by the European Union and by Canada," Warren said.
"What they're just trying to do is minimize any fees that they have to pay, because they're concerned if they're having to pay out these fees in Australia, when you replicate that across the rest of the world Facebook's profitability is going to be impacted, and it's something they're very concerned about."
"Australia's the smallest population so it's easier for them to pick on Australia than it is to pick on the European Union or Canada or the UK. I actually think what you have is a situation where Facebook is trying to show countries, to show governments, how powerful it is," he said.
Many observers are advising that to help resist pressure from Facebook, governments should join forces to act on the shared interests of their citizens.
An open letter published by the civil society activist group Reset Australia condemning Facebook garnered positive attention both in Australia and internationally.
"Globally it is clear new rules are needed for Big Tech, there is no doubt about that. As a society we need to be able to harness new technology for the greater good and not purely for someone's profit," Executive Director of Reset Australia Chris Cooper said.
"Social media has reached the point now where it doesn't matter if you use it or you don't, you are impacted in some way or another by what happens online," Cooper said.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was also quick to take a global stance, revealing publicly he had engaged with other world leaders about the topic, including India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
"I think governments have a duty of care to act on behalf of their citizens," Warren said. "So I think what will happen is that Facebook will force countries to cooperate together to deal with Facebook."
"The issue is whether they're able to pressurize governments into standing down," Warren said.
The Australian parliament passed a digital news code on Thursday, forcing tech giants to pay local news outlets for their content.
After tense negotiations and some concessions, the government agreed to water down elements of the code in exchange for Facebook and Google agreeing to payment deals. Enditem
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