File Photo: Mark Zuckerberg: Founder and CEO of Meta (formerly Facebook)
A corporate spokesman told a parliamentary committee on Friday that Facebook owner Meta may restrict Australian news material if the government requires licensing payments.
Meta’s regional policy director Mia Garlick told MPs “all options are on the table” if the business would prohibit Australians from sharing news information to save expenses.
“There’s a large number of channels that people can get news content from,” Garlick told the panel.
She said Meta was waiting for Canberra to determine whether to use an untested 2021 rule that allows the government to set U.S. internet companies’ connection fees.
The statements are the greatest hint that Meta would adopt the same tough stance in Australia as in Canada in 2023 when identical legislation were imposed.
When the legislation was passed in Australia, Meta signed partnerships with News Corp and the Australian Broadcasting Corp, but it will not renew them after 2024.
Australia’s assistant treasurer must determine whether to require Facebook to pay for news material. The assistant treasurer is still seeking counsel but says Meta only follows the law when it fits.
This week, Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media Australia’s two biggest free-to-air television broadcasters, announced employment cuts due to Meta contract expiration. Meta’s Garlick said Friday that censoring Australian Facebook news would be legal.
“Every other law – tax laws, safety laws, privacy laws – we work to comply with,” stated. “It’s just compliance would look slightly different in relation to this law if it’s fully enacted.”
Garlick said Meta’s content moderation centers were in other countries, but she supported its methods enabling Australians to report about damaging disinformation or frauds.
Asked about Australian mining tycoon Andrew Forrest, who is suing Meta for bitcoin fraud ads containing his likeness, Garlick said the firm has methods to identify and deter scams, but “there are a lot of challenges”.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young queried how Meta could call itself an advertising firm when “some ads sell lies”.
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