August 2, 2023
In reaction to a proposed rule that would mandate the firm to pay news publishers for their material, Meta Platforms has initiated the process of censoring news on Facebook and Instagram for all Canadian users.
Meta said that news links account for less than 3% of the information on its users’ feeds and that news has little commercial value. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on the other hand, has stated that such an argument is faulty and “dangerous to our democracy, to our economy.”
The Canadian government enacted the Online News Act in June, which is comparable to a groundbreaking measure passed by Australia in 2021. Both regulations force digital behemoths to strike commercial partnerships with news publishers in exchange for their content.
The Canadian government has condemned the decision as “irresponsible.” According to Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, Meta would rather prevent consumers from receiving high-quality local news than pay its fair contribution to news organizations.
The Canadian government goes on to say that it is open to change the legislation if required, but that it is dedicated to ensuring that news publishers get reimbursed for their efforts.
Google has also stated that if the law is not changed, it will restrict news on its services in Canada. It claims that the rule is wider than those established in Australia and Europe since it places a price on news story links displayed in search results and might apply to non-news sites.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.
