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Facebook vs. Australia: What Happens When Big Tech Comes for the News?

Lisa Davies, the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, talks to Foreign Policy about Facebook’s decision to block news for its users in Australia.

The Sydney Morning Herald Facebook page is seen blank on February 18, 2021 in Sydney, Australia.
The Sydney Morning Herald Facebook page is seen blank on February 18, 2021 in Sydney, Australia.
The Sydney Morning Herald Facebook page is seen blank on February 18, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Facebook’s decision on Thursday to block users in Australia from posting links to news content took the world by surprise. Faced with abiding by a new Australian law that forces Google and Facebook to bargain with media companies for a slice of the revenue generated by advertising on the platforms, each company has taken a wildly different direction.

Colm Quinn was a staff writer at Foreign Policy between 2020 and 2022. Twitter: @colmfquinn

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