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Two executives from Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta went back before the Australian Parliament on Sept. 4 for a hearing involving the government’s ongoing probe of news content practices on the social media networks.
According to The Australian, Antigone Davis, Meta’s global head of safety at Meta, and Mia Garlick, a regional director of policy for Australia, were summoned back to parliament after attending a hearing in June.
Why is Meta at the Australian Parliament?
Meta announced earlier this year that it would phase out the Facebook News tab in Australia, as it had in many other countries. The company said it would not renew any deals that paid Australian publishers for displaying their content.
The policy changes angered Australian politicians and news organizations alike. “Australian news publishers deserve fair compensation for the content they provide,” communications minister Michelle Rowland said.
Australian law, under its News Media Bargaining Code, requires online platforms to pay local publishers for the content linked on their sites. Meta might not cough up any such cash, however. Garlick, its regional representative, told lawmakers that “all options are on the table,” including a complete news block on Facebook and Instagram in Australia to get around the legislation.
Publishers say such a move would be “catastrophic”. One claimed it would lose 52 percent of its income if the ban went ahead.
“We haven’t had any indication about which way things are progressing and so there’s nothing further to update,” Garlick said. She also confirmed that Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg had not yet met with anyone from the Australian government.
Garlick and Davis were also questioned over child safety on the company’s apps. Davis said the country should enforce laws that require parents to approve downloading of the Facebook and Instagram apps by children under 16 in their care.
Davis’ answer did not impress Member of Parliament Zoe Daniels, who said Meta was “shirking responsibility.”
“So you will support some level of age assurance or age verification, as long as you don’t have to do it yourselves,” she added.
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