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Changes to sharing and viewing news on Facebook in Australia

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

#331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I live in Australia and while I'm excited to see less Facebook use, I see a lot of comments saying things like, "good, Facebook monetized an addiction model and this curbs that". While true, the proposed law that has pushed them to do this is incredibly dangerous." You're absolutely right and I'm also horrified by the implications, and I would be even more so if the circumstances were more normal. The trouble is tha…

So the law is horrifying, but you really hate these companies so it's OK. Even if I agree with you about these companies isn't this an excess of 'ends justify the means'?

No. So it's fine to raped and not doing any about it? That's appeasement, and we saw where that led us last time.

Did you actually comprehend the extent of want I said? That's the real problem no one believes what's actually happening and when it does then no one notices it. That incident in Washington wouldn't have happened if Google and Facebook didn't exist.

So if you want to sit on the fence and wash your hands of the matter like Pontius Pilate that's fine but it's not fine with many of us. Unfortunately, the biggest problem with democracy is that too many sit by and do nothing whilst living in ethical zombie land. If that weren't so, the problems I'm discussing wouldn't exist either, as Google and Facebook et al would have been straightjacketed by legislation years ago.

The fact is that others and I want our old phone system back that we had 20 years ago. If you're too young to know what that was then it's simple. I could phone anyone anywhere and be sure that my calls were private. Now if I telephone anyone who has a smartphone then Google automatically that I'm a contact of the person I phoned - even if I have a Google-phone.

Do you really understand the true implications of what's happened? Unfortunately, I don't think so, nor many do - especially if they are not old enough to have gone through the change - from the time of sacrosanct inviolable communications run by a government utility to 'ownership' by Google and Facebook. Right, that's what's actually happened because governments were lobbied and also they were asleep at the wheel. Why? Because democracy failed to stop it—again because half the population were in a state somnolence and couldn't care less.

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

#332
post #232

I live in Australia and while I'm excited to see less Facebook use, I see a lot of comments saying things like, "good, Facebook monetized an addiction model and this curbs that". While true, the proposed law that has pushed them to do this is incredibly dangerous. The law doesn't just apply to Facebook, it applies to whoever the Treasurer of Australia[0] says it applies to - it isn't metrics/rules based: https://i.im…

I agree 100% The tech community gives solid and reasoned warnings against the law, and they are ignored. Google warns against the law, and caves. Facebook warns against the law and stands up. I think FB and Google and Twitter are the only companies that can really win this. Facebook didn't back down. Good on them.

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

#334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So it's just like GDPR? Guidelines intentionally kept vague so that some bureaucrat can slap a huge fine and collect the rent? I wonder if that rent-seeking attitude will accelerate or curb the current brain drain Australia faces.

Google has been busy making major deals with news organisations. Facebook has chosen the opposite track. The problem Facebook has is government in Australia is wildly popular because of the pandemic. They can do what they want right now it won't lose them any votes. Ministers are already telling Facebook to leave the country completely!

Yup, and given that we have largely managed the pandemic extremely well as a society with a competent government that has a publicly funded health care system, I think it's unlikely that Facebook preventing us from reading the news via Facebook is much of a concern.

We were a large consumer of news before Facebook. We will be a large consumer of news after Facebook.

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

#335
post #299

New error message being displayed on facebook: https://i.imgur.com/sxHaAUg.png

Am I missing a detail or does it seem retributive for Facebook to block Australian news sources globally? Isn't the issue with the Australian market alone?

The legislation is about the source of the news, not the traffic source. They'd have to pay if it was shared outside Australia.

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

#336
post #16
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh my god this is a real thing... https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/07/australian-pm-calls-en...

> Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. It lives on other people's ideas, and, although its ordinary people are adaptable, most of its leaders (in all fields) so lack curiosity about the events that surround them that they are often taken by surprise. - Donald Horne, 1964

Australia is a vastly different country in 2020 than it was in 1964.

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

#337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Australian Government for ages has been trying to get the news organisations and the social media giants to come together and establish a voluntary media code that addresses concerns of multiple parties in a reasonable way. I’m sure each of you will be shocked to hear that Google & FB each have been hostile to the process form the start and have missed meetings and general behaved poorly and arrogantly in their d…

> Google & Fb know they are very powerful with limited obligations to Australians and so they are acting arrogantly and oppressively in their approach. I don't see what's arrogant about Facebook's approach here. They say they do not derive much value from this content, and the government is proposing to charge them much more than the value they do derive. So they are left with the only rational choice: to not have th…

If they don't derive much value from the content, then it shouldn't be terribly awful they have blocked the content. But I suspect that's not the truth. Not by a long shot.

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

#338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is how regulatory capture happens. Google can afford to pay for the right to link to publishers. New startups can't. Australia has strengthened Google's monopoly, all in the guise of "taking on" big tech.

Where does it stipulate this law applies to new startups?

It applies to any company the Gov wishes. If company XYZ is a news aggregator, then the gov could target them on a whim.

It's not about the monopoly that FB has. If company XYZ started getting fined, we'd hear nothing about it. That garage based company would just go away.

FB, just happens to have enough cash to say no.

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

#339
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Laws of economics are pretty clear on this. News, especially international news, is a commodity. Government can impose monopoly ruls to try to allow distribution channels to extract more, but technology (and users) will find ways to route around this as damage to the network. People don't want to pay for news. They don't like ads, but will tolerate them to a point, and most definitely don't want to pay for subscripti…

Laws are never necessary where economics or physics already lead to the desired outcome. So, arguing that “these politicians don’t understand economics” is like saying “laws against theft don’t understand how easy it is to break a window”.

[deleted]

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

#340
A bold statement from a company that essentially seemed to gain from news and websites, until it seemed to reach a conclusion a user that reads trustworthy news outside Facebook, is a user that spends less time on Facebook. The very approach that seemed to conclude in lowering trustworthy news pages reach on the platform, and seem to boosted fake news.

Now the company tells it will not pay trustworthy publishers for the content. As far as it seems absurd, it just shows that any news in Australia on Facebook can be considered a fake news as default. The clarity is a benefit.

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