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Published 10:07am 18 February 2021

While we’ve disappeared from your Facebook feed, you can still access your trusted, free source of community news direct by heading to moretondaily.com.au

Like other media outlets, we were blindsided by Facebook’s decision to restrict the posting of news links and all posts from news pages in Australia overnight.

Facebook is in a stand-off with the Federal Government over plans to introduce legislation that forces tech giants to pay Australian news sites for content and says being asked to pay is unfair, because media outlets benefit more from using Facebook than the company does from sharing their news.

Australian content banned

The legislation has bipartisan support and was passed in the House of Representatives last night, but must still be passed by the Senate before it comes into effect.

“People outside of Australia also cannot view or share Australian news content or content from Australian news Pages on Facebook,” a statement from the social media giant says.

“This is not the outcome we wanted and it's a step we take reluctantly. The proposed law fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it to share news content.”

Ministerial concern

But Federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said Facebook should think carefully about what the decision meant for its reputation.

"At a time when there are already questions about the credibility of information on Facebook, that is something that they will obviously need to think about," Mr Fletcher told the ABC.

Facebook pages stripped of their content because of the decision include Dolphins News, Queensland Health, the Bureau of Meteorology, the ABC and Channel 9 News.

Meeting community needs

Moreton Bay Region Industry and Tourism chairman Shane Newcombe, who is the publisher of moretondaily.com.au, says the ban is disappointing.

“Moreton Daily and Dolphins News were borne out of a need in the community for genuine, independent, trusted local news.

“We know many people access their news through social media, so using platforms such as Facebook was an obvious way to give our readers what they wanted,” he says.

Here for our readers

Mr Newcombe says the moretondaily.com.au and Dolphins News team remains committed to producing articles about local news, businesses and events.

“Our content is produced by a team that collectively has almost a century of experience publishing local news and they are passionate about the Moreton Bay Region.

“We remain a trusted, independent free source of information.”

Mr Newcombe says the best way to stay on top of local news is to head direct to our website.

“Make a visit to Moreton Daily part of your daily routine.”