As Facebook faces increased pressure from lawmakers around the world, the company appears to have broken an Australian law in its attempts to woo politicians.
Facebook says it's speaking to Tasmanian authorities after a federal politician accused the social media monolith of breaching the state's strict biosecurity laws by sending flowers to politicians that likely contained live seeds.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie thanked Facebook for the "promotional floral arrangement" but said the bouquet represented a "serious" breach, in a tweet sent on Monday afternoon.
Dear Facebook, thanks for the promotional floral arrangement - but you just breached Tas's biosecurity laws. Delighted to tip off Biosecurity Tasmania to raid all other Federal MPs and Senators' offices #politas #auspol
"Facebook sent me an unprompted promotional floral arrangement from Sydney," Wilkie told BuzzFeed News in a statement. "It arrived today by Australia Post and was apparently to all Tasmanian federal MPs and Senators."
"My office immediately contacted Biosecurity Tasmania who were very concerned that the arrangement had not been quarantine cleared and likely contained live seeds and the possibility of serious pests and diseases."
Failure to comply with restrictions on importing plant matter can result in a penalty of $33,600 AUD for an individual, or $134,400 for a company (equivalent to .0005% of Facebook's recently reported quarterly revenue).
A Facebook company spokesperson told BuzzFeed News that the company sent an Australian native wreath to Wilkie "to spread some festive cheer" as part of a promotion for its annual Gift Guide. The flowers were accompanied by a copy of the guide and an invitation to a showcase event.
"We are currently reaching out to Tasmanian authorities to understand more about what happened here."
It's not the first time that high-profile internationals have been caught by Australia's biosecurity laws. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were ordered to film an apology when they smuggled Heard's dogs into Australia in 2015.
Facebook, Biosecurity Tasmania and Australia Post have been contacted for comment.