2 ms·
This is a fairly important stand Facebook is taking - I'm glad they are doing it. The precedent set here is uncomfortably close to creating a liability simply f
by zmmmmm 6y ago
This is a fairly important stand Facebook is taking - I'm glad they are doing it. The precedent set here is uncomfortably close to creating a liability simply for linking to content - something that would quite literally destroy the very fabric of the internet if it was applied generally. In Facebook's case it is even worse because they are not the ones creating the links - their users are. If internet services have to assume liability for not just actual content people post but content within things they link to it will create a situation that is simply untenable.
The fact that this law is applied only to two cherry picked companies selected at the pleasure of a government minister does not change the nature of the precedent created, and creates an enormous risk that this will now be lobbied to apply to numerous other industries and circumstances. I would fully expect that to follow in short order if Facebook folded on this - and it probably will happen anyway.
- teruakohatu 6y ago> In Facebook's case it is even worse because they are not the ones creating the links - their users are. It is much worse than that. The publishers themselves often share the links on Facebook themselves.
- zmmmmm 6y agoYes, it is particularly egregious that someone can go to Facebook, create a link to their own content, and then claim monetary compensation for use of their content from Facebook.
- BLKNSLVR 6y agoNo, no, you have to cross a certain revenue / profit threshold before you can claim money. We can't have any Tom, Dick, or Harry eating into News Corps profits. The original legislation proposal didn't even include the SBS and the ABC news services. They got added in to make it look less like News Corp wrote the legislation (which they pretty much did).
- oska 6y agoI actually don't see a problem with this in the context of an ad-pushing platform. Facebook gets all its engagement from 1) users' feeds and 2) imported 3rd party content. Why should they receive all the profits from pushing ads against content others have created? I think it's a grossly unfair "business model" and am happy to see it challenged.