Following the recent approval of a contentious digital news legislation by the Canadian Parliament, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced plans to curtail access to news content for its Canadian users.
The legislation mandates major digital platforms to remunerate news publishers for the content displayed on their platforms. In response to this development, both Meta and Google initiated pilot programs restricting access to news for select Canadian users.
In 2021, Facebook had imposed a similar ban in Australia when faced with comparable regulation, preventing users from viewing or sharing news content.
The newly passed Canadian Online News Act obligates large platforms like Meta and Google to form business agreements and financially compensate news agencies for their content. Meta has criticised the law, stating it fails to account for how their platforms operate.
As of Thursday, Meta stated it will cease the provision of news on Facebook and Instagram to all Canadian users, even before the law comes into effect.
A representative from Meta commented to Reuters, stating the legislative framework that forces payment for content or links they did not create and are not commonly sought after by most platform users is neither maintainable nor feasible.
Meta reassured its Canadian users that the upcoming changes would not affect their other services. Google also criticised the new bill, calling it unfeasible in its current state, but expressed willingness to collaborate with the government to find a solution.
The Canadian federal government defended the online news bill, claiming its necessity in fostering equity in the national digital news sector, and in assisting struggling news agencies to gain just compensation for their news and links circulated on these platforms.
According to an evaluation of the legislation by an independent parliamentary fiscal watchdog, it is estimated that the news industry could receive approximately C$329m ($250m; £196m) annually from digital platforms.
Earlier in June, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez publicly condemned the trials conducted by these tech platforms as "unacceptable" and a "menace".
After amendments were made following discussions with the Australian government, Facebook decided to reinstate news content for its users. Rodriguez's office confirmed that he met with representatives from Google and Facebook last week and more discussions are planned. Despite this, the government intends to proceed with the bill's enforcement.
Rodriguez added, "If the government can't advocate for Canadians against tech magnates, who else will?"
The enactment of the bill was praised by media industry groups, viewing it as a stride towards achieving market equilibrium. Paul Deegan, the CEO of News Media Canada, emphasized in a statement the importance of authentic journalism, which is highly sought after by Canadians and is crucial to their democracy, and yet is expensive to produce.
The Online News Act is predicted to be operational in Canada within the next six months.