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Science
Rob Nicholls, Associate professor in regulation and governance, UNSW Sydney

Stuff-up or conspiracy? Whistleblowers claim Facebook deliberately let important non-news pages go down in news blackout

Facebook Wall Street Journal Meta United States Google Rob Nicholls Australia ACCC SBS
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On Friday, the Wall Street Journal published information from Facebook whistleblowers, alleging Facebook (which is owned by Meta) deliberately caused havoc in Australia last year to influence the News Media Bargaining Code before it was passed as law.

During Facebook’s news blackout in February 2021, thousands of non-news pages were also blocked – including important emergency, health, charity and government pages.

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