SOCIAL MEDIA – AUSTRALIA

Advertising rules and blackouts are looking outdated

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Natasha Gillezeau
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 16-May-19

Political marketing expert Andrew Hughes has questioned why the pre-election advertising blackout has not been extended to social media. The ban on political advertising on broadcast TV and radio took effect at 12am on 16 May, but it does not apply to online media. Political science and lobbying expert George Rennie expects the blackout to benefit Labor more than the Coalition, noting that the latter is more reliant on traditional broadcast media to reach older voters. Catch-up TV services are also exempt from the blackout.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ALLENS

How Twitter drip-fed Watergate

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 36 : 3-May-19

The ‘Watergate’ saga that has embroiled Energy Minister Angus Taylor has arguably changed the rules when it comes to news reporting in Australia. The story was sparked by an anonymous Twitter account in early April, which implied that Taylor had benefited from the sale of water rights to the federal government by Eastern Australia Agriculture in 2017. The rights related to two Queensland cotton farms; Taylor had advised Eastern Australia Agriculture on the purchase of these farms a decade earlier. Although journalists have historically relied on anonymous sources, it is extremely rare for them to use sources that they cannot identify.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, EASTERN AUSTRALIA AGRICULTURE PTY LTD, TWITTER INCORPORATED

Violent net video ban faces review

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 25 : 8-Apr-19

Both sides of politics have committed to a parliamentary review of the Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Material legislation after the federal election. Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom co-founder Peter Greste warns that although the legislation provides defences for legitimate journalism, it will still require media organisations to defend themselves in court. He adds that cash-strapped newsrooms are now less likely to do so than in the past. The legislation was introduced in response to the live-streaming of the Christchurch mosque shootings on social media.

CORPORATES
ALLIANCE FOR JOURNALISTS’ FREEDOM, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Facebook bans foreign-funded political ads during May election

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 5-Apr-19

Facebook is the latest social media company to advise that it will not accept foreign payments for political advertisements on its platform during the upcoming federal election. Twitter has previously announced such a ban, while Facebook has also banned foreign-funded political advertising in Indonesia during that nation’s presidential election. Meanwhile, Facebook has responded by the issue of fake news by establishing a fact-checking unit in partnership with Agence France-Presse.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Social media chiefs get jail term warning

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 26-Mar-19

Social media companies and internet service providers will meet with Prime Minister Scott Morrison on 26 March. The meeting has been convened in the wake of the live-streaming of the Christchurch mosque shootings on Facebook. Morrison says the federal government will act if social media companies are not prepared to take steps to prevent the use of their platforms in a similar fashion. The threat of jail terms for social media executives who are not seen to be co-operating with the government on the issue has been raised.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TWITTER AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Morrison includes telcos in social media crackdown

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 21-Mar-19

The federal government will meet with representatives of ISPs and digital platforms on 26 March to discuss measures to prevent the distribution of objectionable content. Social media companies have come under scrutiny after their platforms were used to live-stream the Christchurch mosque shootings, and they were initially expected to be the focus of the government’s talks. However, representatives of Telstra, Optus and Vodafone will also attend the meeting in Brisbane. The telcos have announced that they will block access to footage of the mosque attacks.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Push to curb social giants like traditional media

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Davidson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 20-Mar-19

Sacha Molitorisz of the Centre for Media Transition says digital platforms should be subject to the same regulation as traditional media companies with regard to the distribution of objectionable content. He supports the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s proposal for a single media regulator. The issue has attracted renewed scrutiny in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attack, with digital companies unlikely to be censured for allowing it to be streamed live on their platforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY. CENTRE FOR MEDIA TRANSITION, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, SKY NEWS

Global backlash against social media live-streaming of atrocity

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Mar-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for social media platforms to suspend live streaming in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attack. Brenton Tarrant used Facebook to live stream his attack, and versions of his video were then seen on Twitter and YouTube. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have blocked and removed hundreds of versions of the video, while Facebook took down 1.5 million videos of the footage within 24 hours of the attack. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she intends to take up the issue of live streaming with Facebook directly.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, YOUTUBE INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED, NEW ZEALAND. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Facebook’s olive branch to publishers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 28-Feb-19

Social media giant Facebook is set to launch its Facebook Journalism Project News Accelerator in Australia, in partnership with the Walkley Foundation. The initiative is aimed at assisting media companies to increase their revenue from social media, and it follows the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s landmark inquiry into digital platforms. Facebook will also provide funding for a pilot program aimed at improving the media literacy skills of high school students.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WALKLEY FOUNDATION FOR JOURNALISM, ALLIANCE FOR JOURNALISTS’ FREEDOM, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, THINK TV, AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ADVERTISERS

Google bid to keep algorithm secret

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 22-Feb-19

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission proposed the creation of an algorithm regulator in the preliminary report on its investigation into the impact that Facebook and Google are having on news and society. Google Australia & New Zealand MD Mel Silva contends that such a body could lead to manipulation and even more fake news, while she says Google should be treated differently to Facebook as it encourages users to visit other sites, whereas Facebook tries to keep people on its platform for as long as possible.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD