
#DeleteFacebook was trending today as fury at the firm's decision to ban news in Australia spread globally (left), with US politician David Cicilline - who leads a committee responsible for regulating tech firms - saying site is 'not compatible with democracy'. Tens of thousands of social media users took to rival Twitter to vent their anger and call for a boycott after the ban came into force (right), inadvertently knocking down sites including government health pages sharing news about Covid, along with charities, food banks, missing persons pages, emergency services and domestic violence shelters. Facebook (CEO Mark Zuckerberg pictured centre) says it took the decision rather than comply with new laws due to be passed this week which would force it to pay for news content hosted on the site. The law would be a world-first, but Facebook fears the idea could catch on in other countries, with similar rules under consideration in the UK, the EU and US.