Facebook faces global backlash for 'bullying' Australia

Lawmakers worldwide rebuked Facebook's decision to block Australians from sharing news in its platform, suggesting they were anti-competitive and prompting a lawmaker to tag their action as 'bullying.'

British lawmaker Julian Knight, who chairs the Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee in UK's parliament, described Facebook's action as 'bully boy' and one of our lifetimes' most idiotic but also deeply disturbing corporate move.

According to Knight, Facebook's action will ignite a desire to go further amongst legislators around the world, adding that UK lawmakers will use pending social media legislation to ensure platforms such as Facebook promote "trusted news sources."

Democratic congressman David Cicilline of Rhode Island said that Facebook's actions "is not compatible with democracy."

Canadian heritage minister Steven Guilbeault dubbed Facebook's actions as highly irresponsible and have jeopardized the safety of Australians.

He added that they will continue to put in place fair legislation between news media and web giants.

Facebook on Wednesday barred Australians from finding or sharing news on its platform, in response to a new law that will force it and other tech companies to pay news publishers for content posted to their platforms.

News links from Australian publishers would also be restricted outside the country.