Meta on Tuesday began blocking its users in Canada from accessing media content on Facebook and Instagram, in compliance with a new law that forces digital tech giants to pay publishers.
The company said links and content published by Canadian and foreign media "will no longer be visible to people in Canada" on its platforms, noting that the measure will be fully implemented in the "coming weeks."
Many users in Canada posted screenshots on social media showing media accounts that had become inaccessible.
Public Broadcasting Corporation Canada said contents shared by Radio Canada on one of its Facebook pages were blocked minutes after it was published.
The C-18 Online Information Act was passed in June, similar to a similar measure adopted in Australia since 2021, aimed at supporting Canada's struggling media sector.
Meta's latest move to deny Canadians access to sources of news is an unjust and irresponsible misuse of market power. https://t.co/ScIYeVv1yI pic.twitter.com/lhUsdmxMQH
— CBC/Radio-Canada (@CBCRadioCanada) August 1, 2023
Law and agreements
The C-18 law obliges digital giants to make fair agreements with local media to use their content on their platforms, under penalty of binding arbitration.
Rachel Curran, Meta's director of public policy in Canada, said: "News outlets voluntarily share their content on Facebook and Instagram to expand their readership base and increase their bottom line."
"By contrast, we know that people who use our platforms don't come to us for news."
According to a parliamentary report published in October, the legislation could provide Canadian newspapers with revenues of close to C$330 million ($248 million) a year.
For its part, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram maintains that the law "is based on the misconception that Meta is unfairly benefiting from news content shared on its platforms, when it is quite the opposite."
Meta says it is officially moving to end news access for Canadians on its Facebook and Instagram platforms.
The company says it is removing news for all Canadian users over the course of the next few weeks. https://t.co/MFV7VyczBk
— Toronto Star (@TorontoStar) August 1, 2023
Profits & Plans
For its part, Google plans to adopt a similar measure when the law "comes into force", that is, within the next few months, at a time when several countries are watching with interest the confrontation between Ottawa and the internet giants.
The Canadian legislation is similar to a law passed by Australia in 2021 that has prompted threats from Google and Facebook to restrict their services there.
But both companies eventually struck agreements with Australian media companies after amendments to the legislation.
As for Canadian law, Google argues that it is more comprehensive than the laws in Australia and Europe, as it places a price on links to news articles displayed in search results and can apply to outlets that do not produce news.