Thaivisa Facebook page blocked to readers in Australia

 

Image: Reuters

 

Thaivisa readers in Australia have been blocked from accessing the Thaivisa Facebook page, after being inadvertently caught up in the spat between the social network and the Australian government.

 

When accessing the Thaivisa Facebook page, readers in Australia are presented with a blank page and message that reads: “No posts yet”.

 

The block follows Facebook’s abrupt decision earlier this week to stop Australians from sharing news on the social network - a move which has been  widely criticised, not just in Australia but around the world.

 

"It is one of the most idiotic but also deeply disturbing corporate moves of our lifetimes," Julian Knight, the lawmaker who chairs the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the UK, told Sky News.

 

Facebook’s disastrous roll out of the block saw the pages of foreign news outlets, as well as  charities, emergency services and government pages also affected.

 

 

Facebook took the move in response to the Australian government’s proposed news media code that will force tech companies to pay news publishers for content posted to their platforms.

 

Google has recently reached an agreement with 500 publications worldwide and will launch ‘News Showcase’, a product that gives publishers control over how their content is presented on the platform. Essentially Google will make significant payments to news publishers around the world for their content. Facebook, as yet, hasn’t been so forthcoming. 

 

However, on Saturday morning, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Facebook was back at the negotiating table.

 

The company has "tentatively friended us again," Morrison told a news conference in Sydney. "What I'm pleased about it that Facebook is back at the table again."

 

For Thaivisa readers in Australia, you can still access  our content via our other social media channels and our newsletter.

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-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2021-02-20

 

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And isn't it ironic, don't you think?

Boss move by Facebook, sticking it to the government and their inane socialist ideas. ❤️ (Y) 

Unfortunate for Thaivisa to get caught up in it, as surely they wouldn't get payment from Facebook anyway.

+1 for facebook - tell murdoch where to shove his news. lets see how he likes it now the free traffic tap is turned off for a bit

 

 

A troll post and a reply have been removed.

I am now at point of hating FB ideals and policies. 

 

But in this case I think FB is in the right. 

 

FB sends  billions of free traffic to their newsites (traffic costs a LOT of money online to get too). 

 

If the old guard an't figure out how to make money online, and with all that free traffic, they deserve to go the way of dinasaur. 

 

Google has other ways to monetize the news content because they are a search intent platform, it benefits them to strike a deal.

 

FB doesn't owe them a penny for sending them views and buyers to their site.  The news sites should be paying FB.
 

Facebook, I suppose, has determined that Thaivisa is an unapproved news source.

yes the basic spirit behind facebook reacting is understandable - but they boogered it up in the actual process of enacting their goal...   

 - if it ever comes out that suckerberg 'deliberately' created the en masse victimisation of the innocent - he is dead meat

1 minute ago, John Drake said:

Facebook, I suppose, has determined that Thaivisa is an unapproved news source.

ThaiVisa shares contents from

news sources such as Reuters and other newspapers. I understand under the new Australian law, Facebook would have to compensate those newspapers for it when TV shares such news. 

10 minutes ago, Dart12 said:

I am now at point of hating FB ideals and policies. 

 

But in this case I think FB is in the right. 

 

FB sends  billions of free traffic to their newsites (traffic costs a LOT of money online to get too). 

 

If the old guard an't figure out how to make money online, and with all that free traffic, they deserve to go the way of dinasaur. 

 

Google has other ways to monetize the news content because they are a search intent platform, it benefits them to strike a deal.

 

FB doesn't owe them a penny for sending them views and buyers to their site.  The news sites should be paying FB.
 

I agree with your first line. However FB and Google have taken so much revenue away from old style media that it has trouble operating. If they disappear do we want to rely on tech giants for our news? Are they going to hire journalists and do the reporting themselves?

2 minutes ago, Trentham said:

I agree with your first line. However FB and Google have taken so much revenue away from old style media that it has trouble operating. If they disappear do we want to rely on tech giants for our news? Are they going to hire journalists and do the reporting themselves?

The newsites have to learn how to monetize traffic and eyeballs, that's not FB's job to do.  They don't run the news sites business and are not a charity.

FB also doesn't want you to leave the site at all.  If you post a link in a post, they DRAMATICALLY free shorten the reach of that post (unless you do paid reach).  They give two sh1+s about content off site, content offsite actually hurts them. 

So if they don't want you to see free content offsite, you definitely are not gonna get them to pay to show it lol.

As for do I want my news from FB.  NO. 

I actually want laws put in place that they are now publishers since they are editing content shared, and doing "fact checking"...which is basically slanting the shhared content as an editor with bias.  I hope that reform comes soon that they are liable for operating in this manner.

First they test the waters by censoring a president, now they know they can get away with that - anything goes.

 

The gloves are off and they think they're in charge.

 

Facebook will become irrelevant over time, it's already dying as far as I'm concerned.

2 hours ago, GeorgeCross said:

+1 for facebook - tell murdoch where to shove his news. lets see how he likes it now the free traffic tap is turned off for a bit

 

 

Don't let your Murdoch derangement syndrome get in the way of sensible comment. Last time I looked, channels 9,7,10,ABC,SBS, the Fairfax news, Guardian, govt sites, emergency service sites, charities, domestic violence sites, etc, etc, had nothing to do with Newscorp or Murdoch. 

For those concerned about the lack of news there has always been https://forum.thaivisa.com/

 

I think you should be proud of this. Zuckerberg considers you a valuable news source.

It is an interesting dilemma, but I tend to side with FB.

 

I saw FB and "old media" relationship as somewhat symbiotic. News posts on FB could be compared to click bait or advertising, linking back to old media and their outdated subscription models.

 

It's not FB's fault that "old media" cannot figure out how to get people to pay for what they deem to be free, so why should FB pay for something that gets posted on FB. So Zuckerberg simply gave them what they wanted and removed news content...and yet old media is still not happy.

 

So, FB is testing the waters in a fairly self contained Australian experiment - if you think FB is going anywhere, you are clueless. If you think some old media could die...you may just be right...

 

I am enjoying watching this play out.

36 minutes ago, lahgon29 said:

Don't let your Murdoch derangement syndrome get in the way of sensible comment. Last time I looked, channels 9,7,10,ABC,SBS, the Fairfax news, Guardian, govt sites, emergency service sites, charities, domestic violence sites, etc, etc, had nothing to do with Newscorp or Murdoch. 

I think Murdoch's news comes from where it has been suggested he shove it in the first place. 

Edited February 20, 20215 yr by Trentham

Didn’t read the article, is related to ex-convicts? 

Well done Australia, do the same to Twatter please.

12 minutes ago, cyril sneer said:

Didn’t read the article, is related to ex-convicts? 

Ought to be convict runs theshow! 

Personally, (and I am not peeing in your pocket ) the Thaivisa forums have been (over years) the ONLY reliable source of info regarding Visas,  extensions, new immigration rules (or local practices) available to be easily on a daily basis. 

Local Thai TV etc..useless, unless you are very fluent in Thai.

Never seen the FB page,  but hopefully those in Oz can access these forums online as we are doing now.

Good Job ThaiVisa !

 

(especially the input of Ubonjoe and others with their lengthy experience and willingness to access the police and govt orders etc)

Edited February 20, 20215 yr by orchidfan
Added comment

5 hours ago, ukrules said:

First they test the waters by censoring a president, now they know they can get away with that - anything goes.

 

The gloves are off and they think they're in charge.

 

Facebook will become irrelevant over time, it's already dying as far as I'm concerned.

 

Did we not see this coming long ago when companies like google and facebook gained the power to decide almost every piece of information we see? Now they want to control news?

 

google happy white woman,  then  duckduckgo happy white woman.

 

See the difference? And it's not just happy white women, it's everything.

 

Do you want to break up google, facebook? Think you can get your message out?

Edited February 20, 20215 yr by rabas

Facebook is a very dominating site. They try to ram sites down you throat. They call them suggested sites. What a load of BS

Facebook sucks.  It always has, and it always will.  You are allowing it to harvest everything about you in so many ways.  Pause on an add?  They look at that.  They look at everything.  

I don't give a damn about facebook.  And you will probably find in 30 some odd years there could be billions that say permanently "this sucks" and quit using it.  

The only hook they have in people is keeping in contact with people.  

should be blocked for the whole world !

 

9 hours ago, Blumpie said:

Facebook sucks.  It always has, and it always will.  You are allowing it to harvest everything about you in so many ways.  Pause on an add?  They look at that.  They look at everything.  

I don't give a damn about facebook.  And you will probably find in 30 some odd years there could be billions that say permanently "this sucks" and quit using it.  

The only hook they have in people is keeping in contact with people.  

 

Further, there are other ways to contact friends, check news, weather etc. 

 

I wonder why Twitter hasn't restructured themselves a little to provide the same services?

10 hours ago, ripstanley said:

Facebook is a very dominating site. They try to ram sites down you throat. They call them suggested sites. What a load of BS

All part of the reason why zukerberg is amongst the top 3 or 4 most wealthy people in the world.

13 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

Further, there are other ways to contact friends, check news, weather etc. 

 

I wonder why Twitter hasn't restructured themselves a little to provide the same services?

Something may come in it's stead - or it will morph.  

 

 

On 2/20/2021 at 8:04 PM, rabas said:

 

Did we not see this coming long ago when companies like google and facebook gained the power to decide almost every piece of information we see? Now they want to control news?

 

google happy white woman,  then  duckduckgo happy white woman.

 

See the difference? And it's not just happy white women, it's everything.

 

Do you want to break up google, facebook? Think you can get your message out?

more importantly, they are doing this about important information about covid and with politics.  They give you answers THEY want you to see, not what you are looking for.

I noticed this change a few years ago.  I used to get all this great info on searches.  Now its usually stock drivel.