After the Canadian Parliament passed the controversial Online News Bill, Meta announced that it would begin restricting news on its platforms to Canadian users. Legislation mandates that major platforms pay news publishers for content posted on their websites.
Restrictions on news access to some Canadians have already been experienced by Meta and Google.
A similar law prevented Australian users from sharing or viewing news on Facebook in 2021, but following changes as a result of negotiations with the government, Facebook Australia has made news content available to its users. brought back
Canada’s Online News Act, which was approved by the Senate on Thursday, establishes guidelines that require platforms like Meta and Google to enter into commercial agreements and pay news organizations for their content. .
According to Meta, the law is “fundamentally flawed legislation that ignores the reality of how our platforms work”.
Before the bill went into effect, it was announced on Thursday that news on Facebook and Instagram would no longer be available to all Canadian users, JEE News reported.
“A legislative framework that forces us to pay for links or content that we don’t post, and that causes people not to use our platforms, is illegal,” a Meta spokesperson told JEE News, is neither sustainable nor viable,” a Meta spokesperson told JEE News.
Additionally, the company said the news changes would not affect other services for Canadian consumers, while Google criticized the online news bill as “unworkable” and that the government has rejected it. Looking for a solution.
Meanwhile, the federal government believes it is important to improve fairness in Canada’s digital news market and ensure fair compensation for news and links shared on platforms.
An independent parliamentary budget watchdog estimated that news businesses could receive $329 million a year from digital platforms. In addition, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez criticized the tests of tech platforms as unacceptable and a risk.
Rodriguez’s office plans to hold further talks with Google and Facebook, but the government will move forward with the bill, saying, “If the government can’t stand up for Canadians against the tech giants, then Who will?”
Additionally, media industry groups see the act, which is expected to take effect in Canada in six months, as a step toward promoting fairness in the marketplace, real journalism and democracy.
“Real journalism, created by real journalists, is what Canadians demand and is essential to our democracy,” said Paul Deegan, president and chief executive officer of News Media Canada, a media industry group. But it costs real money.” A statement
