Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Watch Facebook Rep Blame Australia for ‘Inadvertent’ Block of Dozens of Essential Services’ Pages

Watch Facebook Rep Blame Australia for ‘Inadvertent’ Block of Dozens of Essential Services’ Pages

The social media giant barred Australian news outlets from sharing content on its platform on Thursday after the House of Representatives passed legislation on a new media code which would force the company to pay providers for news content. The bill has gone to the Senate for debate.

Facebook’s chaotic PR response to Australian outrage over the company's accidental’ decision to pull the plug on dozens of essential services pages has further ratcheted up tensions between the $800 billion tech giant and the Land Down Under.

On Thursday, Australians awoke to find that Queensland Health, NSW Fire and Rescue Service, UNICEF Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology, the National Homeless Collective, Cricket Australia, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and dozens of other emergency service, charity, sport and women’s domestic violence help pages had been blocked from posting content.

The block came as Facebook made good on its threat to restrict news sharing after Australia’s House of Representatives passed the long-awaited media code legislation, which has yet to come into force and will now be debated by the Senate.

The block on the essential services’ pages was removed later in the day, with the company issuing a statement explaining that because “the law does not provide clear guidance on the definition of news content, we have taken a broad definition in order to respect the law as drafted.”

Speaking to Australian Broadcasting Corporation journalist Jack Snape about the fracas, Simon Milner, Facebook’s head of policy for the Asia-Pacific region, appeared to blame Australian lawmakers for the potentially deadly mix-up.


“One of the criticisms we had about the law that was passed by the House of Representatives yesterday is that the definition of news is incredibly broad and vague, and therefore in responding to the law and restricting the sharing of news, some of that has affected pages that probably don’t think of themselves as news, but under the law they may well be,” Milner said.

Asked whether the algorithm to block news pages was tested before it ended up affecting major emergency services and helpline pages, as well as dozens of small businesses, the company representative simply reiterated that “the law itself is very vague.”

"We did not want to do this,” Milner stressed, suggesting that “this is caused by the law that was passed by the House of Representatives yesterday.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison blasted Facebook’s decision on Thursday, accusing the social media giant of “unfriending” his country, and calling the blocking of news “as arrogant as they were disappointing.”

Morrison stressed that Canberra “will not be intimidated by big tech,” suggesting that “these actions will only confirm the concerns that an increasing number of countries are expressing about the behaviour of big tech companies who think they are bigger than governments and that the rules should not apply to them.”

Milner's comments fueled outrage on Twitter, with users slamming the Facebook representative for his comments and unrepentant approach. #DeleteFacebook has also been trending on Twitter in Australia.






The dispute between Facebook and Australia centers around the “News Media Bargaining Code” legislation, which demands that the social giant and Google negotiate payments to Australian outlets for use of their news content. Both Facebook and Google have balked at the idea of paying Australian media for content, arguing that companies already gain from clicks and referrals to their websites.

Other countries have joined the debate, with the US warning that the legislation’s terms “raise concerns with respect to Australia’s international trade obligations.” Canada, meanwhile, has expressed support for the media code idea, with a minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet saying Ottawa needs a similar law. The European Union and the UK are reportedly also mulling comparable legislation.

Australia’s Senate is widely expected to pass the media code into law next week.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×