Canada can no longer see news on Instagram or Facebook because Meta is blocking it all
Meta starts blocking news for Canadian users on Instagram and Facebook. Photo: Amrutha Pagad/Dailyo
It seems like Meta has unfriended Canada and Canadian news organisations. Meta has started to block links to news portals for Canadian users on Instagram and Facebook. It means that Instagram and Facebook users in Canada can no longer access news on the platforms, or at least click on links leading to news portals.
Why
Meta has taken the step following Canada's Online News Act that came into being on June 22. Now, tech giants like Meta and Google have to pay local news organisations to keep their content including audio-visual content on their platforms.
Similar proposals to make tech giants pay news organisations to keep the news on their platforms have been suggested elsewhere too. It has also been implemented in Australia, where the companies have managed to strike commercial deals with Australian news organisations with an amendment in the law.
The belief is that the tech industry is eating up billions in online advertising revenue from news organisations and killing local journalism.
How does this affect Canadian users?
🚨 BREAKING: Meta has begun blocking news on Facebook and Instagram in Canada! 🇨🇦
— MorBob (@TheMorBob) August 2, 2023
⚖️ This is because of Canada's new rule which forces tech companies to negotiate and pay publishers on their site. 📰
The question is... How long is this gonna last? 🤔 (img:@/legally_cree) pic.twitter.com/aZUvanf68F
In case you are already in Canada or are planning to go to Canada, here's how your location will impact your news access on Instagram and Facebook:
- Canadian users will no longer be able to click the links posted by news organisations, or view or share news content on Facebook and Instagram. This includes articles and audio-visual content from news outlets.
- Links and news content posted by Canadian news organisations will not be viewable by people in Canada, even though they will be able to post new links and content.
- International news outlets can also post content and links to their accounts, but they won't be viewable for Canadian users.
Reactions
- Canada's heritage minister, Pascale St-Onge called Meta's decision to end news availability for users "irresponsible".
My statement on Meta blocking news on Facebook and Instagram ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/fO8KS9uMpn
— Pascale St-Onge (@PascaleStOnge_) August 1, 2023
- On the other side, Meta in a blog post said that the Canadian law "misrepresents" the values that news outlets get out of using their platforms.
- Meta also claims that their users don't come to Instagram and Facebook for news content. It says that news articles make up less than 3% of the content on its users' feeds.
- Google says that Canadian law is much broader than the ones in Australia and Europe as it also puts a price on news story links by outlets that do not produce news.
Not just in Canada, Australia, and European countries, a similar law is being considered in the US state of California. Meta has threatened to take the Canadian way in California too.