Meta’s sweeping news ban across Australia in early 2021, which saw the Facebook pages of non-profits and government entities also shut down, was a deliberate ploy by the tech giant’s top brass to gain leverage during heated negotiations over an impending media payment law.

The U.S.-based Whistleblower Aid revealed on May 5 that it had filed disclosures with the U.S. Department of Justice and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on behalf of former Facebook employees.

A press statement said the social media firm had deliberately “over blocked” critical Australian Facebook pages belonging to emergency departments and even weather bureaus for five days between Feb. 17 to Feb. 22, 2021.

The move was an attempt to secure favourable amendments to the impending News Media Bargaining Code, which would have compelled Facebook (and Google) to enter discussions with local media outlets to negotiate payment rates for content.

The tech giant had warned months earlier that it could be compelled to simply remove news sites in response to the law; however, when the ban was actioned, it happened with no prior notification and went over and above blocking news sites.

Facebook soon after said it would reverse the ban, but did not apologize or claim responsibility.

“They (Meta) used that power in a way that threatened public safety during fire season and in the midst of a global pandemic in order to coerce the Australian Parliament,” according to Libby Liu, CEO of Whistleblower Aid. “This wasn’t just an example of a corporate actor behaving recklessly; Facebook intentionally put lives at risk to protect its bottom line.”