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What Facebook’s New Online Policy Means For You

Jurisdiction: Australia; historical platform-policy commentary. Reviewed 27 October 2026.

Historical context: the original article discussed Facebook terms and Australian news-code proposals in 2020. It should not be read as a current summary of Meta’s terms or a prediction that October 2020 is still ahead.

Platform terms and legal risk

A platform’s contractual power to restrict content must be read in the full terms and relevant law. A broad legal-risk clause is not proof that every removal decision is justified, nor does one clause reveal the sole reason for a policy change.

Correcting the algorithm claim

The earlier article incorrectly suggested that the Australian proposal would give news publishers access to platforms’ algorithmic source code and allow them to arrange higher rankings. The ACCC’s 2020 draft concerned bargaining and minimum standards, including advance notice and explanations of certain changes. That is different from access to source code or a guaranteed ranking advantage.

What happened to the proposal?

Parliament passed the news media bargaining legislation on 25 February 2021. The final legislation, platform designations and later commercial or policy developments should be checked separately from the 2020 draft. Speculation in the earlier article about Facebook’s motives was not an established finding.

For website owners

Keep an independent copy of your content, understand the terms of services you use and distinguish a platform announcement from legislation. If you are assessing a current restriction or commercial arrangement, use the applicable current terms and law rather than this historical commentary.

Sources and further reading

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