CNN has prevented people in Australia from accessing its Facebook pages, citing a risk of defamation, after a court ruling decreed that publishers were liable for the content of the comments section. CNN, which is owned by AT&T Inc., became the first major media firm to remove its Facebook presence from Australia.
CNN’s main Facebook page showed an error message on Wednesday when people tried to access it from Australia.
The move to prevent Australians from accessing its content came after the country’s High Court ruled that publishers were liable for the content of their comments section.
The media firm said it had been in discussion with Facebook about disabling comments for those in Australia, but the tech giant refused to acquiesce to its request.
We were 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 spokeswoman said.