Facebook says it inadvertently blocked content during Australia news ban

FACEBOOK Inc said on Wednesday some content was inadvertently blocked on its social network platform when it banned all news content in Australia.

The block on non-news content was, however, reversed quickly, the company said in a blog post.

After tense negotiations prompted Facebook to cut off news in the country last week, Australia offered a host of technical concessions and the social media giant said it would restore news as a revamped bill looked set to become law this week.

Facebook said the news ban was related to a "fundamental misunderstanding" of the relationship between the company and news publishers.

The social media company added it was in active negotiations with news publishers in Germany and France for a deal to pay for content for its news product, where users can find headlines and stories next to a personalized news feed.