Meta maintains its stance against paying media companies for news in Australia, arguing that it does not address the issue of misinformation and disinformation on Facebook and Instagram.
In March, Meta announced that it would not engage in new agreements with media organizations to pay for news fees after the expiration of contracts signed in 2021 under the Morrison government’s media bargaining code.
Deputy Treasurer Stephen Jones is exploring the possibility of the Albanese government using powers under the News Media Bargaining Code Act to “designate” Meta under the code. If designated, the tech company would be compelled to negotiate payments with news providers or face a fine of 10% of its revenue in Australia.
The Treasury Department is also exploring other options, such as mandating the company to distribute news or leveraging taxation to influence the company. The government is concerned that designating Meta under the code could result in a ban in Australia, similar to what occurred in Canada since August last year.
Experts in Canada have noted that where news content has disappeared, it has been replaced by misleading viral content.
In a submission to a federal parliamentary inquiry on social media and Australian society, Meta stated that they are “unaware of any evidence” supporting claims that misinformation has increased on their Canadian platforms due to the news ban, and that they have never viewed news as a tool to combat misinformation and disinformation on their platform.
“We are committed to removing harmful misinformation and reducing the distribution of fact-checked misinformation, regardless of whether it is news content. By addressing this harmful content, we aim to maintain the integrity of information on our platform,” stated the submission.
“Canadians can still access trusted information from various sources using our services, including government agencies, political parties, and non-government organizations, which have always shared engaging information with their audiences, along with news content links.”
