"Facebook is a threat to democracy and to public health"

Former Facebook investor and mentor to Mark Zuckerberg Roger McNamee (@moonalice) on the social media giant's decision to ban news in Australia. pic.twitter.com/whfvvCupXY

— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) February 18, 2021

Enlighten me, please. Is this Facebook thing simply a way to give Murdoch even more control over what we see and hear? An even greater monopoly? Is that what is behind it?

— Djinni (@Djinni43142058) February 18, 2021

A different perspective: “This fight was not "Facebook v. Australia." Or "Facebook v. journalism" even though some ignorant or dishonest people are making it out to be the case. This was always "Rupert Murdoch v. the open web." https://t.co/dhRmqxpsHy via @Techdirt

— Matthew Tostevin (@TostevinM) February 19, 2021

Is the author aware that FB has blocked a broad swathe of Australian govt, police charity, union, retailer and emergency service sites too in its broad-brush, automated news-blocking sweep? I don't support the legislation, but Facebook's reaction has been a massive own-goal

— Chris Keall (@ChrisKeall) February 18, 2021

"But here, a bunch of lazy newspaper execs who failed to adapt and to figure out better internet business models not only want the traffic, they also want to get paid for it." https://t.co/7UvBv4Vem9

— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) February 18, 2021

And I actually don’t think it’s about cash. It’s about power. The media biz and politics biz has always been about power—cash is a secondary concern.

— Claire Lehmann ??? (@clairlemon) February 19, 2021

Two years ago I asked if people wanted a better Facebook or a "dead" FB, and a *lot* of people said a dead FB. But after seeing how people responded to the Aussie news, I honestly think some people would argue FB shutting down was ALSO an "abuse of power" https://t.co/n3BQQJCUip

— Mike Masnick (@mmasnick) February 18, 2021

Taxing hyperlinks is dumb, & should be dragged & dropped into the trash can of history.https://t.co/6Uw9jtBWWv

Blocking links to news is also dumb, @Facebook.

States should tax digital ad revenues to fund independent foundations that support nonprofit journalism & civic media. pic.twitter.com/BHIhKMczyV

— Alex Howard (@digiphile) February 19, 2021

We can argue about whether or not Facebook is "compatible with democracy" but the simple facts of the situation are that Australia - pushed heavily by Rupert Murdoch - has decided to put in place a plan to tax Google and Facebook for any links to news https://t.co/cTK2d5irpl

— hussein kanji (@hkanji) February 18, 2021

I think what is illuminating about this story is the breathtaking dishonesty of many Facebook critics.

It’s probably worth keeping in mind to what extent the “whatever side Facebook is on is the wrong one” heuristic applies to other more difficult to understand stories as well. https://t.co/2BqmjHveuM

— Ben Thompson (@benthompson) February 18, 2021

How I feel about US lawmakers railing against @Facebook for pulling out of Australia amid spat over new laws that would force Big Tech players to pay local publishers for content.

I know it's early in 2021. But is anything really going to move in DC on digital policymaking? pic.twitter.com/HdEa4ob2vH

— Mark Scott (@markscott82) February 18, 2021

“We may not like Facebook in the role of the defender of the open web ... But Facebook saying that it won't pay a link tax is a defense of the open web and against Rupert Murdoch. It's the right move ...” https://t.co/X2AJkLBHp0

— Nu Wexler (@wexler) February 18, 2021

Facebook's news ban hammer having a lot of collateral damage. pic.twitter.com/mP4pfd3nL5

— Josh Taylor (@joshgnosis) February 17, 2021

I agree that Facebook's business model is incompatible with democracy and basic human rights. But imposing a tax on linking to news articles is incompatible with an open Internet.

Facebook has too much power. The Australian law is stupid. Pretty simple.. https://t.co/2pknktp62U

— Evan Greer (@evan_greer) February 18, 2021

Next up: newspapers charge you to tweet their articles https://t.co/IOEPHCfZaD

— ✌️David Millsaps (@eyevariety) February 18, 2021

Hear, hear!

"First is the link tax. This is fundamentally against the principles of an open internet. The government saying that you can't link to a news site unless you pay a tax should be seen as inherently problematic for a long list of reasons." https://t.co/IZZHNqhAmJ

— B-rad Chacos ? (@BradChacos) February 18, 2021

I get the #facebook hate, but this is the best take on the facebook/google/Australia dust up I've seen. @techdirt @mmasnick https://t.co/CttmMmn0xO

— David Armstrong (@djamesarmstrong) February 18, 2021

Just reading the Murduch vs Facebook discourse pic.twitter.com/ycg4M2trv4

— nilay patel (@reckless) February 19, 2021

Society responds to these dilemmas exactly the wrong way. We tinker with system outcomes we don’t like, unable to grok the myriad ramifications of the tinkering on other parts of the system. I dislike FB. But who is articulating the desired outcome other than FU FB? https://t.co/2wZczyMmoN

— Brant Cooper (@brantcooper) February 18, 2021

“Every government is the Australian government, as we all face this unaccountable power in the same way - it is time for governments to wake up.”

Author Shoshana Zuboff tells @krishgm that tech giants have control and authority of the world’s knowledge.https://t.co/5v8MKii6it

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) February 18, 2021

Apologies to those who wanted AU news poll results without having to vote. Here's a snapshot so far. Most interesting is the # of people who say FB has done more than expected for public interest (but that was a hard Q to articulate, so maybe these answers don't mean much). pic.twitter.com/qvTVwSWwxP

— Daphne Keller (@daphnehk) February 18, 2021

There's almost universal reporting that Facebook has alienated/angered its users... but has it?

I mean I have a lot of fairly politically/media addicted friends and my FB feed seems largely absent of anything approaching that

— Greg Jericho (@GrogsGamut) February 18, 2021

Takeaway message: here is yet another piece of legislation written by politicians with zero technical knowledge, who also consulted nobody with technical knowledge. It was bound to be flawed. https://t.co/HRIBW8p7RY

— Dan Masters – OhMDee.com (@OhMDee) February 18, 2021

I agree with @mmasnick on the law, but Facebook is the worst possible defender of the open web. It's like saying foxes are the best defenders of the chicken coop. FB has done everything possible to bury links, keep people inside their walled garden, and block interoperability https://t.co/H20Zqop6Bc

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) February 18, 2021

Be careful what you lobby for.
Be careful who you associate with -- i.e., Murdoch.
This is all Murdoch's fault. And, by the way, he doesn't suffer a bit because he owns half the media in Australia. He's helped if his competitors, old or new, suffer.
Coincidence? No! https://t.co/8k0q6M3reY

— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) February 19, 2021

Australia’s dumb and bad ‘bargaining code’ with platforms is coming soon to a country near you. So we should probably talk about how dumb and bad it is https://t.co/olRb4bGH4r pic.twitter.com/payvazHzkC

— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) February 17, 2021

Government & various pundits screeching about Facebook robbing the public of credible information by blocking news sites in Australia.

FB is evil but who published ARSON lies of the bushfires, SEX romp security guards lie & Sky News.

Rupert Murdoch & News Corp!#Auspol

— ? Sleeping Giants Oz ? (@slpng_giants_oz) February 18, 2021

Seeing Murdoch media repeatedly calling Facebook a bully with zero sense of irony is a sight to behold.

— Andrew Bartlett (@AndrewBartlett) February 18, 2021

I got tired of responding to every bad take regarding the Facebook Australia news on Twitter, and have now written a longer post about it. Just don't try to share it on FB in Australia. https://t.co/uv9KTkugDx

— Mike Masnick (@mmasnick) February 18, 2021

A entire country telling you to no vex

A flex https://t.co/v9KjVY0S04

— Dr Ola Brown (@NaijaFlyingDr) February 18, 2021

“Australia is saying it wants to tax links to news on Facebook, and Facebook responds in the exact way any reasonable economist would predict: it says that's just not worth it and bans links. That's not incompatible with democracy....” https://t.co/ZpVXhH024P

— Randy Barnett (@RandyEBarnett) February 18, 2021

In news and analysis about the Australian legislation in the "make the platforms pay for news" battle, I look for who mentions that legacy media use their remaining clout with politicians to bring pressure on tech— but also to exclude smaller and newer publishers from the deal.

— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) February 18, 2021

I just had to ring the bell hanging over my desk, as for the first time in my life, I've convinced someone to change their opinion on this here internet. https://t.co/X5PZfenJa0

— Mike Masnick (@mmasnick) February 19, 2021

“This fight was not ‘Facebook v. Australia.’ Or ‘Facebook v. journalism’ even though some ignorant or dishonest people are making it out to be the case. This was always ‘Rupert Murdoch v. the open web.’ https://t.co/HeX33VI9Uv

— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) February 18, 2021

Facebook blocks news in Australia, but doesn't block fake news for up to a week. In other words, fake news is the only news Facebook now allows in Australia. Please delete your Facebook account, everybody. https://t.co/YJ2sUTEaPW

— Mike Elgan (@MikeElgan) February 19, 2021

'Australian news sites recorded a steep decline in traffic as a result of the block. Audience tracking company Nielsen reported total sessions for news content declined 16%'...'https://t.co/BX9fsbt0V8

— Gumleaf - Backseat Sage (@GumLeafWhistler) February 19, 2021

Misinformation runs rampant as Facebook says it may take a week before it unblocks some pages https://t.co/lAuzZad7Kw

— Lenore Taylor (@lenoretaylor) February 19, 2021

A New-Media Showdown in Australia https://t.co/iurUPzFeW7

— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) February 19, 2021

"This is an ugly preview of the kind of opprobrium Facebook will continue to face when it is under scrutiny for the things it actually does wrong" - @karaswisher https://t.co/7SUeNKYy62

— Damien Cave (@damiencave) February 19, 2021

이 싸움은 "페이스북 vs. 호주", "페이스북 vs. 저널리즘"이 아니었습니다. 이것은 항상 "루퍼트 머독 vs. 개방형 웹" 이었습니다.

The Bizarre Reaction To Facebook's Decision To Get Out Of The News Business In Australia | Techdirt https://t.co/ZEII8AY7Ko

— lunamoth (@lunamoth) February 18, 2021

The Bizarre Reaction To Facebook's Decision To Get Out Of The News Business In Australia | @mmasnickhttps://t.co/H46PKwIq6A pic.twitter.com/fS0sqi8D5V

— arianna ciccone (@_arianna) February 18, 2021

"Australia, pushed heavily by Rupert Murdoch, has decided to put in place a plan to tax Google and Facebook for any links to news. The bill has has many problems and should concern basically anyone who supports a free and open internet."https://t.co/W9vsTKygbR

— Terry Newman (@TLNewmanMTL) February 19, 2021

Facebook exec 'sorry' for blocking emergency pages in sweeping news ban https://t.co/2kb0gwLsIE pic.twitter.com/iZ9KdVQ497

— New York Post (@nypost) February 19, 2021

Web inventor says Australian law could make internet ‘unworkable’ https://t.co/CyqHspzJUU

— George Fong (@mongrel43) February 19, 2021

Australian politicians: ”Who is this guy @timberners_lee anyway and what does he know?!”https://t.co/bHieK4hE9N

— Mikael Pawlo (@mpawlo) February 19, 2021

Australian law could make internet ‘unworkable’, says World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee | The Independent https://t.co/37iUhl9T43

— Andrew Coyne (@acoyne) February 18, 2021

The FT View: The titanic struggle between Big Tech and Australia’s government over paying for news content this week produced two strikingly different outcomes.

The case highlights the potential pitfalls when using legislation to tackle the matter https://t.co/StvLaqrmVF

— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) February 19, 2021

Australia’s Big Tech fight does not provide a model https://t.co/gE4lXp5ViU | opinion

— Financial Times (@FT) February 19, 2021

This is what happened to traffic to Australian news sites when Facebook turned off the tap https://t.co/fqUc5JF84x pic.twitter.com/EMCbiQYlp3

— Neil Varcoe (@neilwrites) February 18, 2021

If people cannot read news on Facebook, over-inflated reader numbers will inevitably shrink, but if they go instead to the publishers websites it might be a win for all. https://t.co/K7X5ruvJgA via @NiemanLab

— Angela Phillips (@AngelaELL) February 19, 2021

This article shows that even with the ban, there is still a bit of FB referral traffic coming through.... I would LOVE to peak inside some of the newsrooms and see how the volume of direct traffic changed immediately after the ban https://t.co/UrehnPzG5c

— Uma Patel (@umabp) February 19, 2021

Facebook’s news ban in Australia causes 20% drop in traffic to news sites https://t.co/1c0rQld3WG pic.twitter.com/MDZkyw0OMi

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) February 19, 2021

This is the best article/explanation I have read on the Australian media code via ⁦@karaswisher⁩

A New-Media Showdown in Australia - The New York Times

Please read. #auspol #mediacode https://t.co/NLyvMuQP9T

— Mollie (@lilbirdey) February 20, 2021

“No company has to make an economic deal it doesn’t want to make. No media company has a right to operate on a particular platform,” writes @karaswisher. Unless of course a government passes a law that says so. Is there an argument to declare FB a utility?https://t.co/nuc7r69hgB

— Ben Grubb ? (@bengrubb) February 20, 2021

"Facebook is a terrible, terrible company and deserves lots of blame for lots of bad things that it does. But this ain't it."

I'm a harsh FB critic, but 100% agree with @mmasnick here: https://t.co/uh3CeJlMO6 pic.twitter.com/KTotJ9pvzd

— Rand Fishkin (@randfish) February 19, 2021

Here's the best synopsis you'll read of the Canadian government's wrong-headed approach to Facebook, Google and news blocking/linking https://t.co/UDMZsOMMZQ

— Peter Nowak (@peternowak) February 19, 2021

Snedigt. Nyheds-appen for det australske public service-medie ABC ligger i top i App Store efter Facebooks blokade.

"possibly because ABC capitalized on Facebook’s news ban with an ad sending users to its app."https://t.co/kEAt1sqSbI

— Claes Holtzmann (@Claeshs) February 19, 2021

Analogy of what Australian publishers want from Facebook: “It’s a bit as if TV network had to pay Procter & Gamble for the value of all those 30-second Crest-themed short films that run between the longer bits.” https://t.co/WbZ58Wyrfp via @NiemanLab

— Matthew Tostevin (@TostevinM) February 20, 2021

yikes https://t.co/kSYdTYgZ8t pic.twitter.com/mYSjqUBhgo

— Brad (@bradesposito) February 19, 2021