'All options are on the table': Meta flags news ban as Labor nears designation call
Confirmation of Meta’s consideration of an all-out news ban marks a pronounced escalation in the company’s engagement with both local media companies and representatives of the Australian parliament.
Meta’s local policy head Mia Garlick has told a parliamentary committee that the company is considering all of its options — including a news ban on its platforms — should the Australian government 'designate' the company under the media code.
In parliamentary hearings on Friday, Garlick said Meta is considering banning news on its platforms in Australia, as it did in Canada in response to similar laws last year, should the government move forward with designating the company under the code, a move that could expose the social media behemoth to a binding arbitration process with media companies, or steep fines.
“At the moment all options are on the table,” Garlick told the committee Friday, in response to a direct question about whether Meta would ban news as feared by some publishers.
“We have made the announcement that we are deprecating the Facebook news product, that we’re still paying out the deals that supported that product, and these continue to be available. But we haven't sort of had any indication from the government about any potential next steps.”
