The social media platform said it will block news sharing in the Land Down Under should the country’s legislation compelling Big Tech firms into paying for content carried on their platforms become law. The Australian government dug in after Facebook’s comments, saying it “won’t be responding to coercion or heavy-handed tactics.” (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Talking point: Facebook and Google already face similar laws in France and Spain. In Canada, several of the country’s newspaper publishers have petitioned the government to enact similar legislation. One notable exception is Village Media, which publishes several web-only news portals in Ontario—and which shares its local news content management platform with partners Google and U.S. publisher McClatchy. Australia competition regulator chair Rod Sims said if Facebook opted not to pay publishers per the proposed law, the company would have to block Australians’ access to all international news, not just work from Australian publishers, or face fines.