Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called Facebook’s restrictions in the country, a threat that reinforced the government’s decision to adopt a code for media production
“This is Australia, if you want to do business here, you operate under our rules – that’s reasonable. But the idea of shutting down sites, which they [Facebook] did yesterday, is kind of a threat, and it’s not a good move on their part. We need to get over this quickly and get back to the negotiating table to sort things out”, – Morrison told reporters in Sydney.
The Australian leader also said authorities in Canada, the UK and India are monitoring the situation and Facebook’s reaction to Australia’s intention to introduce a code for media production.
“We are seeing a lot of interest around the world in what Australia is doing. It’s not good to remove Australia from our friends because we are very friendly”, – Morrison stressed.
It should be recalled that on February 18, Facebook turned off the ability for all Australian users to publish and share news. As a result of the restrictions, the accounts of some regional ministries and departments, government services and a number of social, human rights and charity organisations were also blocked.