Australia vs Facebook and Google – what’s the row about? – BBC News

People have been responding to Facebook blocking its users in Australia from sharing news, in response to a proposed law which would make technology companies pay for news content on their platform.

The Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, said his government will not be intimidated by Facebook, describing the move to “unfriend Australia" as arrogant and disappointing.

Users found the Facebook pages of all local and global news sites unavailable, and several government health and emergency pages were also blocked. Facebook later asserted this was a mistake and many of these pages are now back online.

Both Google and Facebook have fought the law, saying it unfairly "penalises" their platforms.

However, in contrast to Facebook, Google has in recent days signed payment deals with major Australian media outlets.

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