Australian premier calls on Facebook ‘to friend us again’
CANBERRA, Australia — This nation’s prime minister urged Facebook on Friday to lift its ban on news access for Australian users and return to the negotiating table with media organizations, warning that other countries would follow his government’s example in making digital giants pay for journalism. Prime Minister Scott Morrison described Facebook’s move Thursday to prevent Australians from accessing and sharing news as a threat. “The idea of shutting down the sorts of sites they did yesterday, as some sort of threat — well, I know how Australians react to that, and I thought that was not a good move on their part,” Morrison told reporters. “They should move quickly past that, come back to the table and we’ll sort it out,” he added. Morrison said his government was “happy to listen to them on the technical issues” but remained determined to pass the law.
“It’s not OK to unfriend Australia because Australia is very friendly,” Morrison said. “We’d like to remain very friendly, and it’s time for them to friend us again.”