Facebook Breaks the News in Australia to Prove a Point

News on Facebook shut down for all Australians until the Aussie legislators "fixed" the law so that Facebook could not be compelled to negotiate with news sources in Australia. This was a pretty big deal because, in Australia, Facebook pretty much IS the internet. (A lesson on why "walled gardens" are a bad thing perhaps?)

In Australia it was bad. Very bad. Citizens woke up one morning to learn they couldn't access news. Not just Australian news, but news as a category from anywhere in the world.

And, not just news as a category. The blanket ban also blocked information regarding charities, sports clubs, community groups, art centers, trade unions and even state and federal government health and emergency services. Facebook's own page on Facebook was blank.

The ban was a direct response to the Australian government's News Media Bargaining Code law, which passed the lower house of parliament the night before the ban.

Then, five days later on Tuesday, February 23^rd, Facebook agreed to restore news service after the Australian government agreed to amend the law in Facebook's favor.

Only a month previous, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison famously said "we don't respond to threats ... Australia makes our rules for things you can do in Australia."

Ok, sure. But Facebook, who wields power like a sovereign nation, apparently can dictate terms like, ...well, a dictator. So there's that.

• Actionable Strategy — Beware of walled gardens no matter how beautiful they appear to be in the beginning. Sooner or later you'll learn how hard it is to escape when the rules change.