Facebook stops Australian news - 1st March 2021

In Australia, Facebook stopped people from sharing news. This made many Australians angry.

Facebook made this decision because of a new Australian law. The law will force internet companies to pay for news which appears on their websites.

The law is designed to help Australian news companies. These companies make money from advertising. In recent years, they have made less money. Now, most advertising money goes to Google or Facebook. The Australian government thinks this is unfair.

Google and Facebook disagree with the government. Google agreed to pay three big Australian news companies for news. But Facebook chose to block Australian news instead. This affected people outside Australia too. They couldn't read Australian news on Facebook either.

Angry Australians criticised Facebook. Many Australians need Facebook to get their news. Emergency information about the Covid-19 pandemic is often shared on Facebook.

One week later, Facebook went back on its decision. It has now agreed to pay Australian news companies.