Original title: Alphabet Inc-CL CSuccumb to FacebookDeclaration of war: how do people from all walks of life in Australia react to being "beaten" by Silicon Valley giants? source: Sina Technology
Sina Science and Technology News on the morning of February 20, it is reported that the new Australian bill (which has not yet become law) requires Alphabet Inc-CL C and Facebook IncPay to the news media, the two giants make very different reactions. Facebook Inc publicly challenged the Australian media and banned users from forwarding news. In the face of this unexpected policy, Australian netizens began to realize this cruel truth after a period of confusion.
On February 18, the Australian news media, and even some Australian government departments or agencies, woke up to find that their Facebook (Facebook Inc) pages had been emptied. The major media are also reporting their experiences of being banned by Facebook.
Facebook Inc's move is aimed at Australia's proposed new media law, which requires Alphabet Inc-CL C and Facebook Inc to pay for linked news content. In the past, Alphabet Inc-CL C believes that these links have actually brought a lot of visits to the media.
Peter Lewis, director of the Centre for responsible Technology at the Australian Institute, an Australian think-tank, said Facebook Inc took the most extreme angry approach.
Alphabet Inc-CL C and Facebook Inc reacted differently. The day before Facebook blocked the Australian media, Alphabet Inc-CL C had just met with Rupert Murdoch's7 News signed an agreement on news authorization and content cooperation. Seven West Media announced that it has reached a long-term partnership with Alphabet Inc-CL C to provide news content for Alphabet Inc-CL C's new product news presentation. This behavior is seen by the media as Alphabet Inc-CL C as a sign of weakness to Australia.
Public reaction
Facebook Inc's actions have received different reactions among Australians, some indifferent and some people angry. On Twitter on ThursdayThe hashtag "# Delete Facebook Inc" has become popular on the website.
In addition to deleting Australian media news pages, Facebook Inc also accidentally deleted the news pages of some charities, government health departments, small businesses and a meteorological office.
Sydney resident Fred Azis-Laranjo told the media that Facebook Inc's move will trigger a strong backlash and lose users and customers in Australia. "Australians used to get news from Facebook Inc's dynamic information stream, and their actions will cause inconvenience and anger. In the long run, if the new policy can encourage people to look for news more actively, I think this is a good thing. In this way, they can get a more diversified point of view, and it will also give the established news media an advantage over the minority media. "
Josh Gadsby, another Sydney resident, said he and many Australians were concerned about the matter, and Facebook Inc even deleted the pages of non-news organizations, which exacerbated the conflict.
Gao Zibei said that he had worked for the Financial Times for many years and had seen the impact of Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc-CL C on traditional media advertising, so it was reasonable to pay fees to the media. He believes that Facebook Inc should negotiate with the Australian media to reach a licensing agreement. He also said that this news ban will not last for a long time, and would like to see Facebook Inc's next move.
The timing of Facebook Inc's blocking of news this time has also caused controversy.
Natasha Kinrade, a Sydney salesman, said Facebook Inc was clearly wrong to block news during the COVID-19 epidemic. In the past, Facebook Inc was the best platform to get news quickly after terrorist attacks and other events.
John Henderson, a Sydney venture capitalist, said that the disappearance of some legitimate news media from Facebook Inc's platform would have adverse social consequences, including providing living space for some unauthoritative or fake news.
Joe Daunt, a video editor in Melbourne, said that if people get news outside Facebook Inc, it will allow them to avoid more fake news, which is a good thing.
Jon Gore of New South Wales says he doesn't care about Facebook Inc's actions. He seldom reads news on Facebook Inc now. In fact, he needs to do more work to check sources to get news on Facebook Inc.
Gore said that he was not interested in sensational news, and that the headlines of party news were boring, and he would not click on them. He also said that Facebook Inc's deletion of the news page will cause trouble for some charities and small businesses, many of which actually use Facebook Inc's page to replace an independent website.
Carly Gower, a staff member at the University of Queensland, said she thought Australia's new media law was unreasonable. "Why do social platforms pay when news media voluntarily publish news on Facebook?" This time Facebook Inc's ban is a little strict, but for those media who need this new law, I think Facebook Inc's approach is fair. "
A spokesman for Facebook Inc told the media that the company will adjust some blocking measures. The spokesman said that this time the measures mainly prohibit the news media and users from sharing or reading Australian and international news, and the new Australian law does not clearly define news content, so the company has taken broader measures to respect the law. however, some accidentally deleted pages will be restored.
Political point of view
Compared with some indifferent citizens, Australian politicians are angry with Facebook Inc.
Prime Minister Morrison said Facebook Inc's actions were disappointing and full of arrogance.
Australian Finance Minister Josh Frydenberg said on Thursday that what Facebook Inc is doing is wrong and unnecessary. The measure is too stringent and will damage Facebook Inc's reputation in Australia.
Facebook Inc even blocked the web pages of some government agencies, involving COVID-19 's epidemic, mental health, emergency services and the meteorological bureau, which had nothing to do with the new media law, which had not yet been passed by the Senate, Friedberg said.
In a tweet on Friday, Friedberg said he had held talks with Facebook Inc CEO Zuckerberg to discuss the remaining issues and agreed that the working groups of both sides should resolve them.
Statistics from Statista, a market research firm, show that 62 per cent of Australians get news on television, while 52 per cent get news on social media.
Paul Colgan, head of the CT Group, an international political research institute in Sydney, says many Australians use Facebook Inc to get news, but his organization's research shows that many Australians are aware that global technology companies are becoming more and more powerful, even hurting Australian companies.
Kogan said that deleting news pages such as health and weather will bring inconvenience to the public, but it is actually very simple to find alternative sources of information other than Facebook Inc.