Even for a company that specialises in PR disasters, Facebook has excelled with its Australian blackout | Emily Bell

By turning off news sharing, Facebook has turned attention away from flawed government legislation and on to its own reckless opaque power
The day Australia woke up to a Facebook news blackout

When Facebook removed vast swathes of Australian media from its platform overnight on Wednesday the social media company intended to shock the system of Australian government and media cronyism and send a strong message to regulators everywhere.

Instead, Facebook managed to turn attention away from a flawed piece of legislation and on to its own reckless, opaque power.