Sydney,  February 18: Several Australian emergency services were hit by Facebook's local ban on news content. According to the AFP report, pages that warn the public about Covid outbreaks, bushfires and cyclones rendered blank.

Reportedly, fire, health and meteorological services around the country saw problems with their Facebook pages, amid several serious public emergencies. Facebook Refuses to Pay Revenue to Australian Media.

Facebook on Wednesday said that Australia will no longer find news on the social media app. Facebook announced the decision to not allow users in Australia to share news in response to proposed legislation in Australia that would force tech platforms to pay news publishers for content.

Campbell Brown, Facebook's vice president of global news partnerships, wrote in a blog post, "What the proposed law introduced in Australia fails to recognise is the fundamental nature of the relationship between our platform and publishers."

Australia slammed Facebook for its landmark local ban on sharing news in response to pending legislation. Treasurer Frydenberg said, "Facebook was wrong. Facebook's actions were unnecessary, they were heavy-handed and they will damage its reputation here in Australia."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 18, 2021 09:10 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).