Meta says it may block news from Facebook in Australia
SYDNEY, June 28 (Reuters) -Facebook owner Meta META.O is considering blocking news content from the platform in Australia if the government makes it pay licensing fees, a company representative told a parliamentary hearing on Friday.
Meta's regional policy director Mia Garlick told lawmakers "all options are on the table" when asked if the company would block Australians from sharing news content to avoid paying fees.
"There's a large number of channels that people can get news content from," Garlick told the inquiry.
She said Meta was waiting for Canberra to decide if it would apply an untested 2021 law which gives the government the right to set the fees U.S. tech giants pay media outlets for links.
The comments are the strongest indication so far that Meta would take the same hardline approach in Australia it took in Canada in 2023 when that country introduced similar laws.
Meta struck deals with Australian media firms including News Corp NWSA.O and the Australian Broadcasting Corp when the law was brought in Australia, but has since said it will not renew those arrangements beyond 2024.
It now falls on Australia's assistant treasurer to decide whether to step in and force Facebook to pay for news content. The assistant treasurer has said he is still collecting advice but that Meta seems to respect the law only when it suits.
Asked if blocking news from Facebook in Australia would amount to sidestepping the law, Garlick said taking that action would be complying with it.
"Every other law - tax laws, safety laws, privacy laws - we work to comply with," she said. "It's just compliance would look slightly different in relation to this law if it's fully enacted."
Garlick defended Meta's processes for Australians to complain if they believed the company was spreading harmful misinformation or scams, although she said its content moderation centres were all in other countries.
Asked about Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest, who is suing Meta for showing cryptocurrency scam advertisements featuring his face, Garlick said the company had processes in place to detect and stop scams, but "there are a lot of challenges".
How could Meta call itself an advertising business when "some ads sell lies", asked Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.
"We have policies and systems and tools to do everything we can to prevent those ads," Garlick replied.
Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Stephen Coates
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Javobgarlikdan voz kechish: XM Group korxonalari har biri faqat ijro xizmatlarini koʻrsatadi va onlayn savdo platformamizdan foydalanish huquqini beradi, bu odamga veb-saytda yoki veb-sayt orqali mavjud boʻlgan kontentni koʻrish va/yoki undan foydalanishga ruxsat beradi hamda uni oʻzgartirishga moʻljallanmagan va uni oʻzgartirmaydi yoki kengaytirmaydi. Bunday kirish va foydalanish huquqi doimo quyidagilarga boʻysunadi: (i) Shartlar va qoidalar; (ii) Risklar haqida ogohlantirish; va (iii) Javobgarlikni toʻliq rad etish. Shuning uchun bunday kontent umumiy maʼlumot sifatida taqdim etiladi. Xususan, shuni esda tutingki, bizning onlayn savdo platformamiz mazmuni moliyaviy bozorlarda biror bitimni amalga oshirishga oid maslahat yoki taklif emas. Har qanday moliyaviy bozorda savdo qilish sizning kapitalingiz uchun jiddiy risk darajasini oʻz ichiga oladi.
Onlayn savdo platformamizda chop etilgan barcha materiallar faqat taʼlim/axborot maqsadlari uchun moʻljallangan va unda moliyaviy, investitsiya soligʻi yoki savdo maslahatlari va tavsiyalar; yoki bizning savdo narxlarimizning qaydlari; yoki har qanday moliyaviy vositalar bilan bitim tuzish maslahati yoki taklifi; yoki sizga kerak boʻlmagan moliyaviy reklama aksiyalari hisoblanmaydi
Har qanday uchinchi tomon kontenti, shuningdek XM tomonidan tayyorlangan kontent, masalan: fikrlar, yangiliklar, tadqiqotlar, tahlillar, narxlar va boshqa maʼlumotlar yoki bu veb-saytda joylashgan uchinchi tomon saytlariga havolalar umumiy bozor sharhi sifatida "boricha" taqdim etiladi va investitsiya maslahatini tashkil etmaydi. Har qanday kontent investitsiya tadqiqoti sifatida talqin qilinsa, siz bunday kontentni investitsiya tadqiqotlarining mustaqilligini ragʻbatlantirish uchun moʻljallangan qonun talablariga muvofiq moʻljallanmagan va tayyorlanmaganligini eʼtiborga olishingiz va qabul qilishingiz kerak, shuning uchun unga tegishli qonunlar va qoidalarga muvofiq marketing kommunikatsiyasi sifatida qaraladi. Mustaqil boʻlmagan investitsiya tadqiqoti va yuqoridagi maʼlumotlarga oid risk haqida ogohlantirishimizni oʻqib chiqqaningizga va tushunganingizga ishonch hosil qiling, unga bu yerdan kirish mumkin.
