Understand Your Rights. Solve Your Legal Problems
Facebook has announced that it will restore news content to its users in Australia after a standoff with the country’s government last week.
“Facebook has re-friended Australia,” Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday, saying that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had informed him the ban would be lifted “in the coming days.”
Last Thursday, Facebook blocked Australian news sites from posting on the platform, while Australian users were prevented from viewing or sharing content from news outlets of any nationality. The ban also swept up pages run by charitable organisations and government health agencies, disrupting public communications just one week ahead of the country’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Facebook said it had been forced to block news in response to legislation currently being debated in the Senate after passing the lower house last week. The proposed law is designed to create a “fairer” negotiation process between tech giants and news companies and is being closely watched internationally as a test case for broader regulation of technology and social media platforms.
The standoff comes amid growing global scrutiny of media power and accountability, a debate also reflected in Prince Harry’s press lawsuits, including his case against Daily Mail, which is scheduled to go to trial starting January 19, 2026.
Facebook now says it has negotiated changes to the proposed media code.
“Going forward, the government has clarified we will retain the ability to decide if news appears on Facebook so that we won’t automatically
