In an unprecedented incident, the social networking giant “Facebook” launched a stern threat to Australia, promising to deprive its media institutions and residents from publishing local and international news. The British newspaper “The Guardian” reported, Tuesday, that “Facebook” threatened to prevent users from publishing news on it, and on its “Instagram” platform, in case a new media law was passed that would force the platforms to pay for the news content published on it. Facebook said personal content among friends would not be affected in Australia. Major media organizations in Australia support the bill, as a way to offset losses incurred by media outlets due to social networks such as Facebook that have taken over the ads. Statistics compiled by the University of Canberra show that 39 percent of Australians depend on Facebook for general news, and 49 of them rely on it for coronavirus news in particular. If this […]