The tech battle in Australia continues to advance, as Facebook has announced plans to lift the ban on news. This after a discussion between Mark Zuckerberg and the Australian treasurer.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is backing an effort in Europe to force Tech companies to pay for the right to link news articles. The company is directly citing the Australian moves as “inspiration” to mandate paying for using content.
While not related to these political moves, BuzzFeed is reporting that Mark Zuckerberg personally stepped in to make changes to Facebook’s 2019 ban on Alex Jones in order to make it more lenient, over the recommendations of employees.
Let’s observe that at issue here is link sharing. Fundamentally, do you have to pay for link sharing? That’s a SLIGHT oversimplification, but it’s a key part too. Tim Berners-Lee – creator of the web – highlights how that makes the internet unworkable.
I’m not taking a side on this one, because it’s two bad options, although I recognize this needs to change. When Zuck alone makes the calls, that’s too much power in one man’s hands.
Source: BBC
Source: ArsTechnica
Source: Business Insider
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