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In Australia, Facebook and Google reveal what they think of democratic values and laws: nothing.
The government wants to oblige the tech companies to share the revenues with media companies.
The reason: Journalistic content makes the offers of both companies attractive - for users and thus also for advertisers and their money.
In individual cases, publishers already receive a fee for their work, but only if it suits the giants from Silicon Valley.
Because Facebook and Google want it to stay that way, they are trying to set an example in Australia.
At the end of January, Google initially threatened to shut down its search engine across the continent.
Now the company is simply buying itself free from the future law by negotiating individual deals with publishers and thus avoiding sums that could be determined by law.
Facebook, on the other hand, doesn't just want to bypass the law, but has opted for a blackmail course.
Without warning, the platform completely excluded the news offers.
Australian users have not received any articles from publishers since then, and official websites with information on the pandemic are currently not appearing either.
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For years, tech companies have never tired of emphasizing that their offerings served democracy.
They should network, inform, according to the mantra.
Now it is clear that their business model is more important to them than democratic processes.
The Australian government has to withstand the pressure and show that there can be no exceptions for companies like Facebook or Google - and the EU should enforce that as well.
This text is from WELT AM SONNTAG. We will be happy to deliver them to your home on a regular basis.
Source: Welt am Sonntag