Facebook, Instagram block access to news in Canada

Previously, the Canadian Senate passed the Online News Act and moved it to the Royal Assent procedure before it can be officially enacted.

The new regulations were created following complaints from the country's media industry that tech companies were pushing publishers out of the online advertising market.

“We can confirm that news links will be discontinued on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada when the Online News Act comes into effect,” Meta Platforms said in a statement.

Facebook says news has no economic value to the company and its users do not use the platform to read news.

The new legislation outlines rules requiring platforms like Facebook and Google to negotiate commercial agreements and pay fees to news publishers, similar to groundbreaking legislation passed in Australia in 2021.

Meanwhile, US tech companies say the proposal makes their businesses unsustainable. Google even argues that the Canadian law is broader than Australia’s, allowing it to set prices for each news link displayed in search results and applying it to distributors who do not produce content.

The search giant proposed that the bill be amended to base payment on displayed news content, rather than links, and only apply to news publishers that uphold journalistic standards.

A Google representative said on June 22 that the bill was “not feasible” and that the company was urgently looking for ways to cooperate with the government “on the path forward.”

But Canada has shown no signs of making changes so far. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Meta and Google were engaging in “bullying tactics” in campaigning against the law.

Google and Facebook also threatened to cut off services in Australia when a similar rule was passed into law. Both eventually reached agreements with Australian media companies after the law was amended.

(According to Reuters)

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