Meta is going to remove news from Facebook and Instagram in Canada now that the Canadian Senate has passed the Online News Act. announced Thursday. The law, officially Bill C-18forces tech companies like Meta and Google to negotiate with news publishers and pay them for their content.
Meta has been an outspoken opponent of the Online News Act for some time now. “The world is constantly changing and publishers, like everyone else, need to adapt,” said Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs. in a statement in May. “In 2023, asking a social media company to subsidize news publishers for content that isn’t as important to our users is like asking email providers to pay for the mail because people stopped sending letters.” Meta also warned on June 1 that it would begin testing removing news from its apps pending the passage of the law. Bill C-18 comes into force six months after it is royally approved, according to the Associated Press.
Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has reversed Meta’s choice to pull news. “Facebook is well aware that they have no obligations under the law at this time,” Rodriguez wrote on Twitter. “After royal approval from Bill #C18the government will start a regulatory and implementation process.”
Google has also tested blocking news content for some Canadian users, but in a statement to The edgethe company said it is still working with the government on a possible solution that would address the company’s concerns.
“We’re doing everything we can to avoid an outcome that no one wants,” Google spokesperson Jenn Crider said in a statement to Google. The edge. “At every step, we proposed thoughtful and pragmatic solutions that would have improved the bill and paved the way for us to increase our already significant investments in Canada’s news ecosystem. So far, our concerns have not been allayed.”
According to National Postthe company is in “last-minute talks” with Rodriguez as of Thursday afternoon.
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