The technology company has taken an unprecedented step in response to new laws in Australia, which would make Facebook pay fees to content producers and media institutions in exchange for publishing their news on the site.

Australians have woken up to find their Facebook pages blank again, after the social media giant blocked all news media, in a sudden and massive escalation of the dispute with the government over payment for content.

The move quickly aroused criticism from news producers, politicians and human rights defenders, especially after the site also deleted the official health pages, which publish information about the Corona virus, emergency safety warnings, weather sites, social care networks and charities.

A number of Australian activists have launched a campaign to urge their citizens to remove the social media site, according to The Telegraph.