Meta Starts Blocking News in Canada in Response to the Proposed Online News Act

In the latest development to Meta's standoff with news publishers, the tech giant has started blocking news on its digital platforms in Canada.

The move comes after the Canadian parliament passed its Online News Act, a bill that would require Meta to pay news outlets for the right to profit through the distribution of their content.

Canadians will now start to notice gaps in their news feeds on Facebook and Instagram as Meta restricts access to stories and links from news publishers. The changes will be gradually rolled out in the coming weeks for all users.

Besides the publishers themselves, the restrictions will also apply to users sharing news and links.

Meta's Stand Against the Online News Act

For more than a decade, tech platforms have profited from distributing original content from publishers without paying for it. Unfortunately for the news industry, changing advertising trends have favored online platforms.

This, together with the competition posed by online platforms by distributing the publishers' original content, has resulted in the slow death of the news industry.

With a goal to save the rapidly declining news industry, Canadian lawmakers penned the Online News Act to restrict online platforms from profiting from news distribution for free.

The law mandates tech companies to negotiate with news publishers and establish fair revenue sharing" over the distribution of their content. While tech companies are naturally unwilling to cooperate, the law also allows for mandatory arbitration as a last resort".

As we've always said, the law is based on a fundamentally flawed premise. Regrettably, the only way we can reasonably comply is to end news availability in Canada.Andy Stone, Mets's policy communications director

Meta had already announced in June that it would be ending access to news on its platforms following the passing of the bill. The company said in a statement that it had proposed thoughtful and pragmatic solutions" to improve the bill and allow it to invest more into the country's news ecosystem. However, none of the company's concerns were addressed, it informed.

We believe that news has a real social value. The problem is that it doesn't have much of an economic value to Meta.Rachel Curran, the head of public policy for Meta Canad

Rachel claimed that Meta doesn't benefit from the distribution of news content on its platform. However, ironically, news and political content have played a pivotal role in driving engagement on its platforms.

Google to Follow Suit Soon

Meta isn't the only company taking a stand against the new law. Google plans to carry out a news blackout of its own in Canada in response to the Online News Act.

Google already launched tests for its ability to block news content for some users in Canada back in February.

While the news industry is obviously in favor of the law, critics have pointed out that the publishers already rely heavily on social media platforms to spread their stories and drive traffic.

Besides worsening their situation, a forced negotiation framework will also offer large media groups an unfair advantage over small and independent publishers, said critics.

Meta pulled a similar move when Australia passed a similar law called the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code in 2021, resulting in amendments that made the law less stringent. It remains to be seen how its standoff will play out in Canada.

The post Meta Starts Blocking News in Canada in Response to the Proposed Online News Act appeared first on The Tech Report.