On Tuesday, Meta began to block the viewing and sharing of news links for all Canadians on Facebook and Instagram because of the Online News Act, a law that requires large digital platforms to negotiate with and compensate publishers for news content.
Content covered under the block includes articles, videos, reels and stories (photos and videos that disappear in 24 hours), whether from Canadian or international outlets. The mass censoring will cover the entire country within a few weeks.
Ottawa views the law as creating a level playing field between online advertisers, who bring in billions in revenue every year, and the Canadian news industry, which has lost approximately 450 media outlets and more than 20,000 journalists since 2008.
Meta, for its part, believes “the legislation is based on the incorrect premise that Meta benefits unfairly from news content shared on our platforms, when the reverse is true,” according to a statement updated yesterday. “News outlets voluntarily share content on Facebook and Instagram to expand their audiences and help their bottom line. In contrast, we know the people using our platforms don’t come to us for news.”
“In the future, we hope the Canadian government will recognize the value we already provide the news industry and consider a policy response that upholds the principles of a free and open internet, champions diversity and innovation, and reflects the interests of the entire Canadian media landscape,” the statement continued.
Responses to Meta have been critical, incisive and in support of the value of high-quality news.
CBC/Radio-Canada stated that the company’s decision is “irresponsible and an abuse of their market power.”
Paul Deegan, president of News Media Canada, stated that, “without access to real fact-based news created by real journalists, Facebook will become far less attractive to users and advertisers. We expect more and more advertisers and their agencies will begin pulling advertising from the platform in response to this unilateral, undemocratic and unreasonable move.”
Charlotte Head, vice president, global product & media solutions at Stockhouse, which publishes Stockhouse.com and The Market Herald Canada, said, “we hope to see a mutually beneficial approach to the adjustments around how Canadian news is shared broadly. Different generations consume their news in a variety of ways and ultimately it’s important to us that investors have the right information to make informed decisions and have affluent conversations. Although Meta’s current position looks like a step backwards, these things take time, and frameworks for resolution have already been created through similar agreements in Australia and Europe. We want to work with Facebook and Instagram, as well as Google and all avenues for redistribution to share qualified actionable news for Canadians.”
The Online News Act received royal assent in June and will officially come into effect by year’s end as regulations are developed, a process Meta said it would not participate in. Google is also planning to censor local news once the law takes effect.
The Act is similar to a pioneering Australian law passed in 2021 to pay local publishers for their content, with Google threatening to shut down its search engine and Facebook blocking Australian news in response. Subsequent amendments to the law led to deals between the advertising giants and Australian media firms.
Meta Platforms stock (NDAQ:META) is down by 1.57 per cent trading at US$317.65 per share as of 9:34 am ET.
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