In Bullying Australians, Google and Facebook Prove they Pose A Fundamental Threat to the World's Democracies

WASHINGTON — Google threatened to stop providing search services to the people of Australia, and Facebook threatened to block Australians from sharing links to news.

Google and Facebook made the threats in advance of a vote by the Australian Parliament on legislation that would require the platforms to pay publishers for articles shared on their platforms. 

In response, Open Markets Executive Director Barry Lynn issued the following statement:

“Today Google and Facebook proved in dramatic fashion that they pose existential threats to the world’s democracies. The two corporations are exploiting their monopoly control over essential communications to extort, bully, and cow a free people.

“In doing so, Google and Facebook are acting similarly to China, which in recent months has used trade embargoes to punish Australians for standing up for democratic values and open fact-based debate.

“These autocratic actions show why Americans across the political spectrum must work together to break the power that Google, Facebook, and Amazon wield over our news and communications, and over our political debate. They show why citizens of all democracies must work together to build a communications infrastructure safe for all democracies in the 21st Century.”