News of Facebook

 Facebook has banned news posts in Australia. That is because the government in Australia is working on imposing a law that makes Facebook and other social media, or Internet, companies pay royalties on news stories that users post. Facebook says it does not ask for the news, and has no control over it, and therefor is not responsible for payment. It Australia insists, Facebook demurs by banning news in Australia and news from Australia everywhere else. It seems like an epic battle.

Except that Australia is a small player in the economics of Facebook. I don't remember how many people there are in Australia, but it doesn't seem to matter. I think I'm on Facebook's side in this. If news organizations want money for public posts, they should control access, which I know would limit traffic and might be counterproductive, or should negotiate with Facebook directly. Government involvement is also counterproductive, as it drives Facebook to ban the news they would be told to pay for. Hardly and unexpected response. People should not be depending on Facebook for news to begin with.

In related news about the Internet and public posting, Malaysia has upheld fines against a news organization for what it is saying were offensive comments by readers of news. The comments were about the judiciary of the country, and the decision was made by members of the judiciary of the country, which is an obvious conflict of interest and screams corruption. Besides, since when does an independent judiciary need, or deserve, protection from unpleasant comments from the public? That is hardly consistent with the principle of free speech.

I don't know much about Malaysia, except that it is not a bastion of freedom of expression. I believe it has a repressive government and has legalized censorship with regard to comments about the government, because the government is hardly worthy of positive attention, so the only way it can avoid a deluge of bad commentary is to ban it. I wonder if Facebook has a presence in Malaysia.

I think I understand both why news organizations and social media allow users to post comments. People like that freedom, and probably are attracted to such sites, where they can, and often do, express themselves, pretty much any way they want. I also understand that there should be limits on such things, which there are. The news organization in Malaysia took down the "offensive comments", but apparently not fast enough. But I don't agree with the judges stepping in to decide what is acceptable to say about judges. Short of inciting actual violence, I'd say let freedom ring. More or less.

I want Facebook to check facts, though. I don't want people to be free to spread disinformation. That is a tricky subject. I understand that. Finding the appropriate limits, and the proper procedures for enforcement of standards, is a challenge. I know quite a few people who disparage fact checkers at every turn. I tell them that people who attack fact checkers just don't want facts known. They usually respond with insults. I don't think what they say in insults is really subject to fact checking, and I  don't want Facebook calling me up to see if I really am a pussy or a Communist. I'm not a public figure, and I don't care if my Facebook contacts call me a pussy or a communist. I'm not a communist, or a socialist, but they insist I am because I don't buy their nonsense, which makes me a liberal elite, and therefor a communist. Facebook wisely stays out of such debates. But statements that Joe Biden stole the election should not go unchallenged, because that is public information of actual meaning, and clearly untrue because the election was carefully observed and reviewed, with no evidence of substantial irregularities. That is, all evidence supports the conclusion it was a free and fair election, and those who say otherwise are attacking the foundations of our democratic society. 

I don't envy the administrators of Facebook. I hope they do good things. I might keep looking at Facebook, for now. If I want news about Australia, I'll search news websites. I regularly visit the BBC News already. I won't get involved in legal wrangling in Malaysia. Maybe I'll pray for their people, though, because they have bigger problems than Facebook or Australia.