Meta Platforms Ends Canadian Users’ Access to News on Facebook and Instagram in Response to New Legislation: Reuters

Canadian Users Lose Access to News on Facebook and Instagram, Meta Platforms Responds to Legislation

Meta Platforms announced on Tuesday that it has begun the process of ending all Canadian users’ access to news on its Facebook and Instagram platforms in response to legislation requiring the inte giants to pay news publishers, Reuters reported.

The Online News Act passed by the Canadian parliament will force companies such as Alphabet, which owns Google, and Meta to negotiate commercial agreements with Canadian news publishers in order to obtain their content.

“News outlets voluntarily share their content on (Facebook) and (Instagram) to expand their readership and increase their bottom line,” said Rachel Curran, director of public policy for Meta Canada. “By contrast, we know that the people who use our platforms don’t come to us for news,” she added.

Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge did not respond to a request for comment. St-Onge is the one who handles the government’s dealings with Meta.

Meta and Google said in June they would block access to news on their platforms in Canada in a campaign against the law, part of a broader global push to make tech companies pay for news on their platforms.

Canadian Legislation Mirrors Australian Legislation

Canadian legislation is similar to a law passed by Australia in 2021 that sparked threats from Google and Facebook to restrict their services there.

But both companies eventually entered into agreements with Australian media companies after changes to the legislation were introduced.

With regard to Canadian law, Google argues that it is more comprehensive than the laws in force in Australia and Europe, as it places a price on links to news articles displayed in search results and can apply to outlets that do not produce news.

Meta said links to news articles made up less than 3 percent of the content on its users’ pages and argued that news lacked economic value.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in May that argument was flawed and “dangerous to our democracy and our economy.”

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