VOA慢速英语2021--Facebook封锁澳大利亚的新闻

The social media site Facebook blocked Australians from sharing news stories on Thursday. The company is fighting with the Australian government over whether big technology companies should have to pay news organizations for their information. Australia's government condemned¹ the move. It said Facebook also blocked some government communications, including messages about emergency services.

Facebook acted after the Australian House of Representatives passed legislation that would make it and Google pay for Australian journalism², said Treasurer³ Josh Frydenberg. He said he was given no warning before Facebook acted. The legislation must be passed by the Senate to become law.

Facebook fears that similar legislation will pass in other countries. Governments around the world are changing their laws to have some control over fast-changing technology.

Australian news organizations could not put stories online on Thursday. People who tried to share news stories got notes saying they were blocked.

"This post can't be shared," the website said. "In response to Australian government legislation, Facebook restricts the posting of news..." It also said that news from Australian publications cannot be shared internationally.

The legislation has not yet been passed, the note added.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison criticized the company on his own Facebook page.

"These actions will only confirm the concerns that an increasing number of countries are expressing about the behavior of BigTech companies who think they are bigger than governments," he wrote.

"They may be changing the world, but that doesn't mean they run it," he added.

Facebook said the proposed Australian law "misunderstands the relationship between our platform and [the] publishers who use it."

The country's Health Minster Greg Hunt also denounced Facebook's decision. He described it to Parliament as an "abuse of big technologies' market power and control over technology."

In the past, Google and Facebook had threatened to take strong action if the law appears to be headed for passage.

Australia's law would create negotiation⁴ committees that would help news organizations work with big technology companies to decide on payment for their news stories. It would stop the technology companies from using their large market share to make "take it or leave it" offers.

Google had threatened to remove its search abilities from Australia because of the House measure. But, instead, Google reached compromises with several companies.

News Corp. announced a deal with Google on Wednesday. The large Australian news organization Seven West Media made a deal earlier in the week and another, Nine Entertainment is reportedly close to its own agreement. The state-owned Australian Broadcasting Corp. is in talks for a deal with Google, as well.

The government accused Facebook of endangering the public by blocking state emergency services messages. There were severe fire and flood warnings in parts of Australia.

Facebook said in a statement that it would look to replace any pages that should not have been removed.

Frydenberg said he had "constructive⁵" discussions with Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg after the blocking began.

"He will come back to me with some more considered views," Frydenberg said.

He said the government remains⁶ supportive of the proposed law because it will pay news organizations for the use of their material.

"Other countries are watching," Treasurer Frydenberg said.

Words in This Story

response – n. something that is done as a reaction to something else

platform – n. something that allows someone to tell a large number of people about an idea, product, etc.

constructive – adj. helping to develop or improve something

1 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

2 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

3 treasurer   

n.司库，财务主管

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。
• The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。

4 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

5 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。