Meta may block news in Australia over licensing fees

Australia’s assistant treasurer has yet to decide on enforcing the law but has noted Meta’s selective compliance.
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Meta, the owner of Facebook, is contemplating blocking news content in Australia if the government enforces licensing fees, a company representative revealed during a parliamentary hearing. Meta’s regional policy director, Mia Garlick, stated that ‘all options are on the table’ to avoid paying fees, emphasising that there are many alternative channels for news content. Meta is awaiting a decision from Canberra on whether it will apply a 2021 law that allows the government to set fees for US tech giants to pay media outlets for links.

The intention to withdraw news from its platforms mirrors Meta’s stance in Canada in 2023 when similar laws were introduced and followed by the pressure of Prime Minister Trudeau to ensure Meta complies with the Online News Act, which requires tech giants with 20 million monthly users and over C$1 billion in annual revenue to compensate Canadian news publishers.

Meta had initially struck deals with Australian media firms, including News Corp and the Australian Broadcasting Corp, but has announced it will only renew these arrangements in 2024. Australia’s assistant treasurer must now decide whether to force Meta to pay for news content, while free-to-air broadcasters like Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media are already citing revenue losses and cutting jobs in anticipation of expired deals with Meta.

In defence, Garlick explained that blocking news content would be a form of compliance with the law, stating that Meta adheres to other laws such as tax, safety, and privacy. She also defended Meta’s content moderation processes, which were managed from centres outside Australia. Addressing concerns about harmful misinformation and scams, including a lawsuit by billionaire Andrew Forrest over scam ads featuring his image, Garlick acknowledged the challenges but assured that Meta has policies and tools to combat such issues.