Facebook unintentionally blocked content during Australia news ban

Sydney - Social media company in negotiations with news publishers in Germany, France over payment for news content.

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By Reuters

Published: Wed 24 Feb 2021, 4:42 PM

Facebook Inc said on Wednesday some content was inadvertently blocked on its social network platform when it banned all news content in Australia.

The block on non-news content was, however, reversed quickly, the company said in a blog post.

After tense negotiations prompted Facebook to cut off news in the country last week, Australia offered a host of technical concessions and the social media giant said it would restore news as a revamped bill looked set to become law this week.

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Facebook said the news ban was related to a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the relationship between the company and news publishers.

The social media company added it was in active negotiations with news publishers in Germany and France for a deal to pay for content for its news product, where users can find headlines and stories next to a personalized news feed.

Reuters
Reuters

Published: Wed 24 Feb 2021, 4:42 PM

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