In shock move, Facebook blocks news access in Australia
Canberra: In a shocking act of retaliation Thursday, Facebook blocked Australians from sharing news, a milestone in the increasingly frantic jockeying between governments, media and powerful tech companies that one Australian minister called an assault on a sovereign nation and abuse of power.
Australia's government condemned the decision, which also prevented some government communications, including messages about emergency services, as well as some commercial pages. The digital platforms fear that what's happening in Australia will become an expensive precedent that larger countries will follow.
Facebook took the drastic action because the House of Representatives passed legislation that would make Facebook and Google pay for Australian journalism, said Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who added that he was given no warning before Facebook acted. The legislation needs to be passed by the Senate before it becomes law.
Facebook's actions were unnecessary, they were heavy-handed and they will damage its reputation here in Australia, Frydenberg said.
Facebook said the proposed Australian law fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it.
This is an assault on a sovereign nation, Health Minster Greg Hunt told Parliament. It is an assault on people's freedom and, in particular, it's an utter abuse of big technologies' market power and control over technology.
Both Google and Facebook have threatened retaliation if Australia created the law, which the government contends will ensure media businesses receive fair payment for their journalism being linked on those platforms.
Australia's proposal requires a negotiation safety net through an arbitration panel. The digital giants would not be able to abuse their dominant negotiating positions by making take-it-or-leave-it payment offers to news businesses for their journalism. If a news business refused to budge, the panel would make a binding decision on a winning offer.
Facebook had threatened to block access to Australian news rather than pay for it under the proposed News Media Bargaining Code. Google had threatened to remove its search functions from Australia because it said the proposed law was unworkable.
But Google's threat has faded as it quickly stitches up licensing content deals with Australian media companies under its own News Showcase model.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. announced a wide-ranging deal with Google on Wednesday. Major Australian media organization Seven West Media reached a deal earlier in the week. Their rival Nine Entertainment is reportedly close to its own pact, and state-owned Australian Broadcasting Corp. is in negotiations.
The government accused Facebook of endangering public safety by temporarily blocking state emergency services messaging on a day when there were severe fire and flood warnings in various parts of Australia.
The Bureau of Meteorology's weather warnings, a Hobart women's shelter and the Betoota Advocate, a satirical website named after an Australian ghost town, were among those surprised to find their content blocked at least temporarily.
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said he had told Facebook that the government expected access to its pages to be restored.
The fact that there are organizations like state health departments, fire and emergency services ... who have had their Facebook pages blocked, that's a public safety issue, Fletcher said.
Facebook said in a statement: Any pages that are inadvertently impacted, we'll look to reverse.
Health Minster Greg Hunt said the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne still didn't have its feed fixed more than eight hours later. Frydenberg said he had constructive discussions with Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg after the content blocking began.
He did explain to me that they had concerns with aspects of the code, and it goes to the interpretation of some of its elements. And he will come back to me with some more considered views, Frydenberg said.
Frydenberg said his government remained committed to the code that was delivering generous payment deals with Google for Australian media.
Other countries are watching, but also Google and Facebook and other digital giants are very focused on what it means, as far as a precedent goes, for other countries, Frydenberg said.
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Unemployed class 10 passouts in Bengal to get Rs 1,500 allowance from March 7: Mamata
Kolkata (PTI): Ahead of the assembly polls, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that from Saturday unemployed young job seekers, having passed secondary examination (class 10), will receive Rs 1,500 allowance every month to help them move towards a self-reliant future.
The TMC supremo made this announcement - on the eve of International Women’s Day on March 8 - during her speech at the sit-in against large-scale deletion of names of voters by the Election Commission during Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll exercise.
She said young men and women - aged 21–40 years - who have passed the secondary exams - will receive Rs 1,500 per month from March 7. Bannerjee said while the assistance was originally scheduled to begin in April, it will now start immediately.
"In the case of Yuva Sathi, all those who are still studying and are not beneficiaries of any schemes other than scholarships will receive the amount. We had earlier stated that the money would be given on April 1. But since tomorrow is International Women's Day, as a gift, we have changed the payment date from April 1 to today (March 7)," she said.
All those aged between 21 and 40 years, numbering around 1 crore people, have applied for this scheme, she said, pointing out these are people who are not beneficiaries of any other schemes except scholarships.
Claiming that her government has generated employment opportunities to a great extent, Banerjee said, "The unemployment rate in Bengal has decreased by 40 per cent. We have provided skill training to at least 40 lakh people, out of which around 10 lakh are already employed.
"This has also happened because we have linked the websites of industrialists with those who have received skill training through Utkarsha Bangla. If migrant workers are interested, they will also be given opportunities. Recently, I heard that around 10,000 people are being trained in the jute industry, and they will also be absorbed into jobs," she said.
The CM said the state is giving Rs 10,000 to farmers every month.
"Even those with just one cottah of land used to receive Rs 4,000 earlier. Now we have also announced Rs 4,000 for landless farmers," she said.
Banerjee said in Bengal, six economic corridors are being constructed to connect the entire state.
"Apart from that, two power plants of 1,600 megawatts (800 megawatts each) are being built in Salboni. We are also number one in IT. More people are employed here than in Bengaluru. Around 200 new companies have also come here.
"Those who defame the state should know that we are number one in small and medium-scale industries. Around 1.5 crore people work in small-scale industries. Units from across the country have come here. In Bengal's leather hub in Bantala, at least 7.5 lakh people work there. Our self-help group women are doing really well. We have created around 12 lakh self-help groups," she said.
Banerjee said around one lakh people will be employed in the large coal reserve in Deucha Pachami in Birbhum district and for the next 100 years, there will be no power cuts in the state.
Bengal's GSDP is the highest even after "repaying Rs 6 lakh crore of debt and paying interest on it and despite Rs 2 lakh crore of central funds still pending," the CM said.
"From GSDP to revenue generation, we are the highest," she claimed.
