Quote Originally Posted by BobsYourUncle View Post
Facebook (and Google to a lessor extent) are bad, soulless companies, and we are their product, not their customers. That said, I can't help but side with them on this one. Why should news media be paid when users share links to their articles on facebook? They're shared as links back to the (usually paywalled) news website, so if anything Facebook/Google are sending more business there way. And yes, they're making a buck through advertisements.What makes news media special? Facebook make money of the original content of anyone who posts on Facebook, should those users be paid too?The other scary thing (for me) that this highlights is the power of news media, which is why the government is bending over for them. Find me a news article from the last 24 hours that is balanced and fair in its reporting on this issue... it's all painting Facebook as the big bad guy, because that's the agenda they're pushing.Federal government tells Facebook they need to pay if they want to keep linking news content. Facebook says "OK, we'll stop". Government says "oh no! you can't do this!". I don't like Facebook and Google. They don't pay enough tax. But I'm glad they're standing up to this attempted extortion.
Agree with all of this. I’m not usually one to side with Zuck and his sociopathic company, but they’re in the right here. The govt is terrified of Murdoch and have constructed this ridiculous law to give the old bloke a wristy because after all these years he still hasn’t figured out how to make a buck online and won’t change his business model. No way Facebook risks contagion of this into their global business for such a poxy little business in Australia.