‘Anti-democratic’: Labor minister warns Facebook against removal of Australian news content

Albanese government will ‘back local journalism’ in dispute over proposed news media bargaining code, says Stephen Jones

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The assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, has argued it would be “anti-democratic” for Facebook to again remove news content from Australian feeds, in the dispute over the government’s news media bargaining code, as he flagged a commitment for mainstream media outlets to be paid fairly by the social media companies.

Jones said the Albanese government would “back local journalism”, stressing his belief that Australians should be able to access news content on social media – and that outlets should be compensated.

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