Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia • Hacker News Board

Re: Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia

#21

Post by SpicyLemonZest » Wed, Feb 17, 2021, 7:12 PM UTC

cmroanirgo wrote: post #13

I use FB as an easy way to garner news from several locations at once. Of course FB uses that to litter my 'news feed' with junk (eg suggestions of all kinds). So I'm two minds about this being a problem for me (an Aussie). However, when I read this sob story by FB : > publishers willingly choose to post news on Facebook, as it allows them to sell more subscriptions, grow their audiences and increase advertising reve…

I'm confused how you know that's not the truth. Why are the publishers posting on Facebook if not because they expect it'll get them more readers?

Re: Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia

#22

Post by jabberwcky » Wed, Feb 17, 2021, 7:12 PM UTC

endisneigh wrote: post #15

Could someone summarize both positions? It seems pretty reasonable to me - my understanding is that Australia wants Google and Facebook to pay lump sums to have their content on their platforms (as opposed to per-click). Google and Facebook can basically say yes or no. How is this different than, say, The New York Times saying the same thing about their content?

Because it is at odds with the grand idea of a beautiful open network and free flow of information^W^W^W^W^W^W^W^W US-centric media machine governed by US law and exclusively celebrating US culture and western propaganda

You are likely to find all kinds of explanations on this thread, but ultimately I believe the root cause is the above.

Re: Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia

#23

Post by MattGaiser » Wed, Feb 17, 2021, 7:13 PM UTC

clouddrover wrote: post #14

gambiting wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they? Surely Australian companies are now also forbidden from sharing their stories on Facebook.

Yes. It was of no value to them anyway. That's what the legislation is about: preventing platforms with market dominance capturing most of the advertising revenue with no real return to the organizations producing the content.

I can easily see the outcome being that people simply read less news, or read more international news.

Re: Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia

#24

Post by rafaelturk » Wed, Feb 17, 2021, 7:14 PM UTC

I'm going to side with FB on this. This law is so bizarre.

Re: Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia

#25

Post by xenomachina » Wed, Feb 17, 2021, 7:14 PM UTC

endisneigh wrote: post #15

Could someone summarize both positions? It seems pretty reasonable to me - my understanding is that Australia wants Google and Facebook to pay lump sums to have their content on their platforms (as opposed to per-click). Google and Facebook can basically say yes or no. How is this different than, say, The New York Times saying the same thing about their content?

My understanding is that even a headline with a link counts.

I've also heard that, unlike Facebook, Google doesn't have the option to say no.

It'll be interesting to see if the newspapers start arguing that Facebook should be exempt, once all of their traffic from Facebook dries up.

Re: Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia

#26

Post by SpicyLemonZest » Wed, Feb 17, 2021, 7:15 PM UTC

MattGaiser wrote: post #23

clouddrover wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. It was of no value to them anyway. That's what the legislation is about: preventing platforms with market dominance capturing most of the advertising revenue with no real return to the organizations producing the content.

I can easily see the outcome being that people simply read less news, or read more international news.

Under these new restrictions, Australians can't read or share even international news on Facebook.

Re: Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia

#27

Post by Rebelgecko » Wed, Feb 17, 2021, 7:15 PM UTC

endisneigh wrote: post #15

Could someone summarize both positions? It seems pretty reasonable to me - my understanding is that Australia wants Google and Facebook to pay lump sums to have their content on their platforms (as opposed to per-click). Google and Facebook can basically say yes or no. How is this different than, say, The New York Times saying the same thing about their content?

What does "saying no" mean wrt the new law?

Re: Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia

#28

Post by pantsforbirds » Wed, Feb 17, 2021, 7:15 PM UTC

clouddrover wrote: post #14

gambiting wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they? Surely Australian companies are now also forbidden from sharing their stories on Facebook.

Yes. It was of no value to them anyway. That's what the legislation is about: preventing platforms with market dominance capturing most of the advertising revenue with no real return to the organizations producing the content.

Facebook showed in their release the monetary value of they provided the news companies.

I can't see how you could possible argue they do not provide value to the classic media companies by allowing them to be linked and discussed freely on their feeds.

Re: Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia

#29

Post by pantsforbirds » Wed, Feb 17, 2021, 7:18 PM UTC

cmroanirgo wrote: post #13

I use FB as an easy way to garner news from several locations at once. Of course FB uses that to litter my 'news feed' with junk (eg suggestions of all kinds). So I'm two minds about this being a problem for me (an Aussie). However, when I read this sob story by FB : > publishers willingly choose to post news on Facebook, as it allows them to sell more subscriptions, grow their audiences and increase advertising reve…

Except its obvious that posting news articles drives readership towards the links. You get very detailed statistics from Facebook on clickthrough rates and its not hard to see who clicks through that already has an account for your site (and is likely already a regular reader).

Some simple business analysis would show that having a strong presence on Facebook drives value to the company.

Look at a company like the American Right Wing outlet DailyWire. They have a massive presence on Facebook and they do a good job of getting people to comment and share articles and it has caused the valuation of the company to explode. (see Now This for a left wing example).

Re: Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia

#30

Post by sbierwagen » Wed, Feb 17, 2021, 7:19 PM UTC

clouddrover wrote: post #14

gambiting wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they? Surely Australian companies are now also forbidden from sharing their stories on Facebook.

Yes. It was of no value to them anyway. That's what the legislation is about: preventing platforms with market dominance capturing most of the advertising revenue with no real return to the organizations producing the content.

>It was of no value to them anyway.

We have something of a natural experiment here on how much FB traffic is worth to news sites. We'll learn the results in a year if Australia repeals or maintains the law.