Absolute disgrace - essentially banning Australia from accessing basic news because Facebook would have to comply with a law that pays the publisher of the article a cut rather than reap all the income for themselves by embedding the page. Not only does this annihilate democracy, it stops people accessing crucial pages and has even impacted jobs from innocent people caught in the crossfire. It's a sad day to see a giant corporation trying to override a government this way whilst kicking the media in the teeth by siphoning off their work. Sadly it will likely just lead to negotiation rather than severe action. Australia is one of the few nations left that don't bow to such bollocks so I hope they don't buckle.
Facebook blocks Australian users from viewing or sharing news
WWW.BBC.CO.UK
It comes in response to a proposed law that would force the company to pay publishers for content.
I remember having a debate about 12 years ago at an old job where people said Facebook was just a social site for friends to connect like Bebo and Myspace - I was even branded a paranoid conspiracy nutjob when I remotely suggested Facebook would grow its presence for sheer global power, the control information and extreme wealth!