Facebook is pushing back against proposed regulations by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET
After the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) submitted a draft regulatory code, designed to let Australian news publications “negotiate for fair payment for their journalists’ work”, Facebook’s Australia is pushing back.
Facebook Australia’s Managing Director, Will Easton, published a statement today claiming the regulations “misunderstands the dynamics of the internet and will do damage to the very news organisations the government is trying to protect”.
“Assuming this draft code becomes law,” Easton continued, “we will reluctantly stop allowing publishers and people in Australia from sharing local and international news on Facebook and Instagram.”
Easton believes the regulatory code is an “outcome that defies logic and will hurt, not help, the long-term vibrancy of Australia’s news and media sector.”
Stating that Facebook has invested millions of dollars in local Australian news companies, Easton also claimed the ACCC misunderstands the dynamic between Facebook and news organisations.
“The ACCC presumes that Facebook benefits most in its relationship with publishers, when in fact the reverse is true,” he wrote. “News represents a fraction of what people see in their News Feed and is not a significant source of revenue for us. Still, we recognize that news provides a vitally important role in society and democracy, which is why we offer free tools and training to help media companies reach an audience many times larger than they have previously.”
The ACCC didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Google has also pushed back against the proposed regulations, claiming they would “put the free services you use at risk”.
In response, the ACCC claimed Google would not be forced to charge users, “unless it chooses to do so”. The ACCC believes its proposed regulations will “address a significant bargaining power imbalance between Australian news media businesses and Google and Facebook.”
Under the ACCC’s proposal, companies like Facebook and Google will have three months to negotiate with Australian media organisations.
“A healthy news media sector is essential to a well-functioning democracy,” said the ACCC, in a statement.