Canadians will no longer have access to news content on Facebook and Instagram, Meta says
The social media giant Meta has confirmed that it will end access to news on its social media sites for all Canadian users before Bill C-18, the Online News Act, comes into force.
The tech company made the announcement Thursday, the day after Parliament passed Bill C-18. The law will force tech giants like Meta and Google to pay news outlets for posting their journalism on their platforms.
Meta said it will begin to block news for Canadian users over the next few months and the change will not be immediate.
“We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18 … content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be available to people accessing our platforms in Canada,” said Meta in a media statement.
The bill is awaiting royal assent after passing both the House and the Senate. Once it receives assent, it should take six months to come into force.
In response to Meta’s announcement, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said in a media statement that following royal assent of Bill C-18, the federal government will engage in a “regulatory and implementation process.”
He said Meta currently has no obligations under the Act.
“If the government can’t stand up for Canadians against tech giants, who will?” said Rodriguez.
A spokesperson for the minister said his office had meetings with Facebook and Google this week.
“We look forward to further discussions with the platforms,” they said.
Meta first threatened to end access to news content for Canadian users of Facebook and Instagram earlier this month, in response to the looming passage of Bill C-18.
The company said it was conducting tests on ending news access for a small percentage of Canadians. Between one and five per cent of the 24 million Canadians that use Facebook or Instagram were said to be affected.
Meta said this test is still ongoing.
“The changes affecting news content will not otherwise impact Meta’s products and services in Canada,” the company said.
“Meta and Google know my door is always open…but, I will not accept threats. That’s unacceptable for Canadians,” says Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez. This as Meta says it would end news access for Canadians if the federal government’s proposed Online News Act becomes law.
On June 7, shortly after Meta announced it would conduct this product test, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said bullying tactics would not work with his government.
“The fact that these internet giants would rather cut off Canadians’ access to local news than pay their fair share is a real problem, and now they’re resorting to bullying tactics to try and get their way. It’s not going to work,” said Trudeau.
Google, which has said it is considering the same approach to blocking news as Meta, said in a media statement on Thursday that it is attempting to “avoid an outcome no one wants.”
“Every step of the way, we’ve proposed thoughtful and pragmatic solutions that would have improved the bill and cleared the path for us to increase our already significant investments in the Canadian news ecosystem,” said Google.
“So far, none of our concerns have been addressed. Bill C-18 is about to become law and remains unworkable.”
The company says it is “continuing to urgently seek to work” with the government to find a “path forward.”
