Australian Facebook users can no longer access news giant CNN’s Facebook pages, after the media company decided to withdraw its social media presence in the region.
The decision to restrict access to its Facebook pages comes after the High Court ruled news outlets are legally responsible for defamatory comments left on their Facebook page, following the landmark Dylan Voller case.
While Voller must now prove he was defamed in the comments left on various Facebook pages in 2016, the decision of the court to hold these publishers responsible has put the global media on notice.
As a result, CNN – which is owned by US telco AT&T – has decided the legal risk of having a presence on Facebook in Australia is no longer worth it.
Australian readers only make up a small percentage of CNN’s overall audience.
According to the Wall Street Journal, CNN believes managing comments on its various Facebook pages is too time-consuming.
The Journal also states that CNN asked Facebook whether it could help news organisations disable comments on all of their Facebook pages in Australia – something the tech giant could ultimately not achieve.
“We are disappointed that Facebook, once again, has failed to ensure its platform is a place for credible journalism and productive dialogue around current events among its users,” a CNN spokesperson told the publication.
“CNN will, of course, continue to publish content on our own platforms in Australia and to deliver quality journalism to our audiences around the world.” A person close to Facebook said the social network never ruled out providing additional moderation tools in its discussion with CNN.”
The change appears to have come into effect already. CNN’s main Facebook page currently displays an error message for Australian users.
