Meta to block Canadian news content after Parliament passes Bill C-18

Bill C-18 will require Google and Meta to pay media outlets for news content that they share or otherwise repurpose on their platforms.

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, says they won’t allow Canadian news to be shared on their platforms.

This is being called an unfair move by Meta because it’s a give-and-take relationship. News organizations benefit from sharing their stories on Facebook, but Facebook benefits with the clicks and likes, and engagement that they then sell.

Ottawa has said the law creates a level playing field between online advertising giants and the shrinking news industry. This impacts Canadian news media including us here at CHCH News.

CHCH News’ News Director Greg O’Brien said, “….We are giving Facebook a lot more than they’re giving us. We are giving them engagement of their own users that are staying within the Facebook platform to comment in the hundreds, dozens, thousands sometimes on our news stories. And they take that attention from Canadians, from the news consumer and they sell that to others. So it’s a dramatically imbalanced relationship.”

Meta hasn’t given a date that this change would take place on its platform. The bill comes into effect in six months.