Facebook Australia’s leader has vowed to block news sharing in the Oceania country if common ground cannot be found.

In a hearing before the US Congress, Facebook’s parent company Meta said it would block news content from its platform if the Australian government required it to pay for sharing news. “All options are on the table,” said Mia Garlick, Meta’s regional policy director.

“There are a lot of channels for people to access that news content,” Ms Garlick told US lawmakers when asked whether the company blocked Australian users from news content when asked to pay.

According to the woman, Meta is awaiting Canberra’s decision. However, Meta’s statement suggests that Facebook will take the same tough approach in Australia as it did in Canada in 2023 when the country’s parliament adopts similar legislation.

Meta also stated that blocking news is a matter of complying with legal regulations, similar to complying with tax laws, privacy laws, etc.

Meta’s statements show that the social network is willing to change its policies when the laws in a country are not to their liking. And that change is clearly not to meet the regulations.

Garlick also defended Meta’s process against complaints in Australia that the company was spreading harmful misinformation or scams, although he said its content moderation centers were in different countries.

When asked about mining billionaire Andrew Forrest, who is suing Meta for displaying cryptocurrency scam ads featuring his face, Garlick said the company has processes in place to detect and prevent scams, despite the challenges.

“How can Meta call itself an advertising business when some of its ads are lies?” Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young asked.

“We have policies, systems and tools in place to do everything we can to stop those ads,” Garlick said.