SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the glad-we-are-not-hosted-down-under dept.
CNN shut down its Facebook page in Australia after court liability ruling:
CNN shut down its Facebook page in Australia on Wednesday, after an Australian court ruled that media outlets are liable for defamatory user-generated comments.
[...] The deteriorating effects of the court's ruling on online speech in Australia serve as a warning of what's to come if U.S. lawmakers succeed in their efforts to weakening protections against such legal decisions in the United States.
[...] The court's ruling previews the grim future in store if U.S. politicians get their way and dismantle Section 230, the keystone U.S. law that shields websites from liability over user-generated content. Without it, social media platforms and any other website with user-generated content—especially those without Facebook's deep pockets—would likely die. Both Republicans and Democrats, President Joe Biden included, would like it dismantled.
Should the person doing the defaming be liable, or the owner of the page the defamation is posted on be liable?
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Saturday October 02 2021, @07:10PM
strangely, I wasn't even commenting on FB, just CNN's presence on FB, in Australia, where CNN isn't 'mainstream'
Businesses seem to have simple logic: People are using The Internet, so we need a website/People are using FB, so we need a FB page/People are using Instagram, so we need a presence....
So many businesses have pages that are, at best, feeding some sales, thereby proving "the platform" is "necessary"
Media companies only survive on ratings/clicks - so they self-define.. what is necessary, by chasing clicks..
I doubt CNN got many, so this ruling was just an excuse to close one page, being produced for a country that didn't care.
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex