Facebook’s ban on Australian news will cut off a vital source of authoritative information for the Pacific region, government and industry analysts have warned.

Across the Pacific, thousands have found their access to news blocked, or severely limited, after the tech giant wiped all news on the platform in Australia in response to proposed legislation that would require Facebook to pay for content from media groups.

The ban’s impact is especially acute in Australia’s region.

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Across the Pacific, thousands of people are on pre-paid data phone plans which include cheap access to Facebook. Those on limited incomes can get news through the social network, but cannot go to original source websites without using more data, and spending more money.

The region’s largest telco provider, Digicel, with a presence in Fiji, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu, offers affordable mobile data plans with free or cheap access to Facebook.

In Australia, news from Pacific sites also appeared to be blocked, a significant impediment for diaspora communities and seasonal workers.

From Australia, The Guardian visited the Samoa Observer, Vanuatu Daily Post, The Fiji Times, and Papua New Guinea’s Post-Courier. None had visible posts.

Significant expatriate communities
Samoa, Vanuatu, Fiji and PNG all have significant expatriate communities in Australia.

Dr Amanda Watson, a research fellow at the Australian National University’s Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, and a researcher in digital technology use in the Pacific, said there was widespread confusion across the Pacific about the practical ramifications of Facebook’s Australian news ban.

“There has not been any clear, accessible and accurate information put out for Facebook users or anything particularly targeted at Facebook users in the Pacific that has explained parameters of this decision,” she said.

Watson said that for many in the Pacific, Facebook was the entry point to, and even the extent of, the internet.

“Facebook is the primary platform, because a number of telco providers offer cheaper Facebook data, or bonus Facebook data. Many Pacific Islanders might know how to do some basic Facebooking, but it’s questionable if they would be able to open an internet search engine and search for news, or go to a particular web address.

“There are technical confidence issues, and that’s linked to education levels in the Pacific, and how long people have had access to the internet.”

Bob Howarth, country correspondent for Timor-Leste and PNG for Reporters Sans Frontières media freedom watchdog, and the former managing director and publisher of PNG’s Post-Courier, said “the Facebook ban on Australian news pages will have a significant impact on Pacific users, especially many regional news providers”.

Sharing breaking news
“As someone who regularly checks literally dozens of Facebook pages, especially in PNG and Timor-Leste, many use the Australian pages for sharing breaking news and a source of ideas and angles for their own news reporting.”

Articles reposted from Australian news sources are often used in the Pacific to rebut misinformation being spread on Facebook, Dr Watson and Howarth said.

“One very popular page in PNG seems to attract more than its fair share of long-longs [an ill-informed person in pidgin] opposing vaccination as the covid pandemic quietly spreads daily,” Howarth said.

The founder of The Pacific Newsroom, Sue Ahearn, told The Guardian the internet had revolutionised communications across the Pacific – historically a region where communication had been difficult – and enabled the instantaneous sharing of news and information that had previously taken weeks or months.

“Facebook and social media are not the be all and end all but they are vital as sources of information. Radio and TV and newspapers remain important, but technology has really woken up the Pacific.

“People are able to share material right around the region and Facebook is the key platform for that.”

Ahearn said the dissemination of accurate and impartial news was vital to countering misinformation across the region.

Misinformation in PNG
“For instance, there is so much misinformation in PNG on covid – people say ‘I don’t believe Melanesians can catch covid’ or ‘I don’t believe what the government says about vaccines’. It’s really important that that misinformation can be countered, and articles from Australian sources are valuable for that.”

Ahearn said the Pacific Newsroom Facebook page had been “overwhelmed” with responses to the Facebook Australian news ban.

“From people all around the world: Fijians in South Sudan, Tongans in Utah, Pacific Islanders are everywhere, and they are telling us they are not seeing anything out of Australia.”

Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Zed Seselja, has labelled Facebook’s actions “disappointing”, and argued the tech giant was “impeding public access to high-quality journalism in Australia and across the Pacific”.

“In many Pacific countries Facebook is the primary avenue to access legitimate Australian news content, and for many Pacific Islanders, Australian news is a key source of reliable, fact-checked, balanced information,” he said.

William Easton, the managing director of Facebook Australia and New Zealand, said Australia’s proposed media bargaining law had misunderstood the nature of the relationship between the platform and news publishers, and had forced the tech company into restricting news in Australia.

He said the company had chosen to block news “with a heavy heart”.

“Unfortunately, this means people and news organisations in Australia are now restricted from posting news links and sharing or viewing Australian and international news content on Facebook. Globally, posting and sharing news links from Australian publishers is also restricted.”

Sheldon Chanel is a Suva-based journalist reporting for The Guardian’s Pacific Project supported by the Judith Nielson Institute. This article was first published by The Guardian here and it has been republished with the author and The Guardian’s permission.

Digicel Asia-Pacific, a digital communications leader in developing markets, has joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to make digital communications, solar power and data services more available in Papua New Guinea’s most remote areas.

The company aims to extend 3G coverage to more than 80 percent of the population by 2020 and expand mobile penetration to 60 percent of the addressable population.

Working with both local and international partners, Digicel has committed to expand the use of solar power solutions for households across PNG.

The BCtA is a global initiative that aims to support private sector efforts to fight poverty through its core business. It is supported by several international organisations and hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

“Our project has two key objectives. To expand our network and data services in Papua New Guinea, meaning more people living in remote areas will gain access to reliable telecommunications,” says Michael Murphy, chief executive officer of Digicel Asia-Pacific.

“Secondly, by working with local and international partners, we aim to see the the use of solar power increase dramatically to areas where access to electricity for recharging is limited. This will help even the most isolated communities to enter the digital age.”

The company has already invested more than US$800 million in Papua New Guinea, providing world-class telecommunications and IT services across the country.

Narrowing Digital Divide
Digicel’s inclusive business model aims to significantly narrow the “Digital Divide” between Papua New Guinea’s urban and rural areas, fostering state-of-the-art communications between the country’s remote regions and the rest of the world.

With a population of 7.3 million, Papua New Guinea is the largest economy among developing countries in the Pacific region, yet has low telecommunication penetration rates compared to other Pacific island countries.

The island country’s rough terrain and lack of infrastructure effectively isolate the 85 percent of its people who live outside cities.

Following many years of inefficient coverage, Papua New Guinea’s government reformed the IT sector in 2005, opening the door for private entrepreneurship.

Since its founding in 2007, Digicel has become the country’s largest mobile operator by increasing mobile penetration among rural areas that previously lacked basic telecom infrastructure, and offering affordable products and services to low-income communities.

However, Digicel recognises that its expanding network has limited value without access to affordable power for recharging communication devices.

To date, approximately only 10 percent of the total households in Papua New Guinea are connected to the national electricity grid.

Solar power access
Access to solar power would not only facilitate greater connectivity: it will enable millions of people to cost-effectively and efficiently cook and light their homes, allow children to study after dark and spur economic development.

Solar power also reduces indoor air pollution and mitigates the risk of fires started by kerosene lamps, candles and wood burning.

Furthermore, it will allow more people to keep their devices charged, giving them greater access to communication and information via voice, SMS and data services.

“Digicel’s communication initiative is a prime example how an inclusive business can bridge the economic divide between rural and urban areas, and fuel developing economies”, says Paula Pelaez, programme manager of the BCtA.

“We welcome this initiative which not only opens rural people’s access to communications, but has the potential to foster education, expand livelihoods and promote greater participation in society.”

As part of its BCtA commitment, the company has extended an invitation for investors, government and development partners in the region to partner in implementing its inclusive business model.

Digicel’s news website Loop PNG

Clearing out the backlog of customer care jobs after Cyclone Winston remains the major challenge for the Pacific’s largest pay television service, Sky Pacific.

Digicel Fiji chief executive officer Darren McLean told Newswire that the company was trying to restore services to all customers after the devastation left behind by TC Winston:

Thousands of homes were affected by power outages and in particular high winds which distrupted equipment on the rooftops. So when we took over the business, there were several thousands of homes that needed attention.

The focus is to get services up and going, and we are also advising customers to please bear with us. We hope they understand why service maybe slow in reaching them.

McLean added that there were plans to open a new Sky Pacific office in Suva in 6 months. He also confirmed that the Fiji One office would stop taking Sky Pacific queries in two months and redirect them to Digicel headquarters.

We are planning to open a new Sky Pacific office in a convinient location in Suva in over six months.

We have a great relationship with Fiji One team and they are helping us out with the transition period but we will be independent from Fiji One in the next eight weeks. Completly independent from the technical side.

Two channels
Since Digicel Fiji has taken over Sky Pacific,  two new channels TVWAN and TVWAN Sports have been added. Mclean said customers could expect more on Sky Pacific in the next few months.

The content of the two new channels will be tweaked over time, with 60 Minutes, Foreign Correspondent, Sesame Street, Hi5, English Preimiership football, English Rugby league and other rugby tournaments, a lot of European football which are all brand new to fiji.

And there is more to come over then next one to two months.

Digicel Fiji took ownership of Sky Pacific on the April 1.

• Sky Pacific

Digicel Fiji has been given three licenses for 12 years to fully operate Sky Pacific, six months after formally acquiring the pay television station from previous owners Fiji Television Limited.

Attorney-General and Minister for Communications Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum outlined in a press conference three different licences given to Digicel Fiji, effective from Monday:

• Broadcast licence under the Television Decree.
• Spectrum licence under the regulations of the National Spectrum Decree.
• Special licence under the Media Industry Development Decree.

Minister Sayed-Khaiyum said Digicel could not show any advertisement unless an agreement with the three existing free-to-air (FBC TV, Fiji One, Mai TV) channels is made.

They (Digicel) cannot advertise on Sky Pacific.  Advertisements cannot take place unless all the three free-to-air providers agree to it.  So all three of them have veto powers.

Minister Sayed-Khaiyum said the Ministry of Communications would be monitoring advertisements aired by Sky Pacific.  He added there were service level commitments built within the licence to protect consumers.

If the Sky channel goes off air, they have to pay a rebate to the subscribers, so if they are off air to four to eight hours there is a one percent rebate, eight to 16 hours there is a two percent rebate, 16 to 24hours there is a three percent rebate and plus there is an additional three percent for every 24 hours that the particular service is off air.

Minister Sayed-Khaiyum said  Sky Pacific would be showing 24 channels, most of them existing channels. The minister said viewers could expect a new channel called “TVWAN”.

Digicel Fiji chief executive officer Darren McLean was happy to get the licences from the government after an announcement was made in September last year about the purchase of Sky Pacific.

I want to thank the Fiji government and the Minister of Communications, Mr Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum for his commitment in helping to turn this opportunity into a reality. 

I would also like to thank our new partner Fiji Television Limited, who has been cooperating well with us and the government in this process. There is a lot more work to do to plan the transition from Fiji TV to Digicel ownership until such time there is no change to Sky Pacific operations and channel lineup.

The focus in the short term is to keep the business focused and delivering for customers, while we plan the improvements that are necessary over the coming months.

Channels of Sky Pacific announced by the minister:

• Super Channel
• MTV
• Nickelodeon
• Comedy Central
• ESPN
• History
• Lifetime
• FYI
• Toonami
• Warner TV
• CNN
• Net Geo Wild
• BCC
• Star Plus
• Colours
• Zee
• FX
• Fox Crime
• Fox Family Movies
• NHK
• Trinity