Meta Starts Blocking News in Canada on Facebook, Instagram Over Law on Paying Publishers
Meta Platforms has begun the process to end access to news on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada, it said on Tuesday, in response to a law requiring internet giants to pay news publishers.
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Meta Platforms has begun the process to end access to news on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada, it said on Tuesday, in response to a law requiring internet giants to pay news publishers.
The Canadian government quickly denounced the move as "irresponsible," and said the world is watching the process play out in Canada.
The Online News Act, passed by the Canadian parliament, would force platforms like Google parent Alphabet and Meta to negotiate commercial deals with Canadian news publishers for their content.
"News outlets voluntarily share content on Facebook and Instagram to expand their audiences and help their bottom line," Rachel Curran, Meta's head of public policy in Canada, said. "In contrast, we know the people using our platforms don't come to us for news."
Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, who is in charge of the government's dealings with Meta, said in a Tuesday statement: "This is irresponsible."
"They would rather block their users from accessing good quality and local news instead of paying their fair share to news organizations," St-Onge said.
"We're going to keep standing our ground. After all, if the Government can't stand up for Canadians against tech giants, who will?” she added.
In a campaign against the law, which is part of a broader global trend to make tech firms pay for news, both Meta and Google said in June they would block access to news on their platforms in the country.
Canada's public broadcast CBC also called Meta's move irresponsible and that it was "an abuse of their market power."
