Meta Deliberately Shut Down Major Facebook Accounts to Strong-Arm Australian Government

Meta Deliberately Shut Down Major Facebook Accounts to Strong-Arm Australian Government
Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during a panel talk at the 2020 Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 15, 2020. Johannes Simon/Getty Images
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Meta’s sweeping news ban across Australia in early 2021, which saw the Facebook pages of non-profits and government entities also shut down, was a deliberate ploy by the tech giant’s top brass to gain leverage during heated negotiations over an impending media payment law.

The U.S.-based Whistleblower Aid revealed on May 5 that it had filed disclosures with the U.S. Department of Justice and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on behalf of former Facebook employees.

Daniel Y. Teng
Daniel Y. Teng
Writer
Daniel Y. Teng is based in Brisbane, Australia. He focuses on national affairs, including federal politics and Australia-China relations. Got a tip? Contact him at [email protected].
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