Facebook shares slip following news blackout move in Australia

Shares of Facebook Inc were down around 1 percent on Thursday, in line with moves in other major tech shares as Wall Street largely shrugged off outrage around the company's decision to block all news content in Australia.

The move was in response to a planned Australian law that would require internet companies like Facebook and Google to reach commercial deals with news outlets whose links drive traffic to their platforms, or be subjected to forced arbitration to agree a price.

Facebook has underlined to investors in recent years that it faces risks from moderation, copyright and commercial claims around the content users publish on the social network and investors have proven largely immune to a number of storms around the issue.

The company's shares, up 33 percent last year even as the platform was widely criticized for its handling of hate speech and misinformation related to COVID-19, was down 1.1 percent in pre-market trade.

Australia's government said Thursday that Facebook was "heavy-handed" and "wrong" for introducing an unprecedented local ban on sharing news in response to pending legislation that would force the social media giant to pay for content, Agence France-Presee reported.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the US firm gave no notice it would revoke users' ability to post links to news articles or view the Facebook pages of news outlets from anywhere in the world.

"Facebook was wrong. Facebook's actions were unnecessary, they were heavy-handed, and they will damage its reputation here in Australia," he said.

The surprise move early Thursday came as retaliation for laws proposed in Canberra that would force social media giants to pay for Australian news content shared on their sites.

Frydenberg said the government remained "absolutely committed" to implementing its plan, which passed the House of Representatives late Wednesday and is now before the Senate.

"What today's events do confirm for all Australians is the immense market power of these media digital giants," he said.

"These digital giants loom very, very large in our economy and on the digital landscape."