Meta starts blocking access to Canadian news from Instagram and Facebook

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New law requires digital giants to pay to have this type of content. Composition of images with Facebook and Meta logos Dado Ruvic/Reuters Meta began blocking Canadians’ access to news on Facebook and Instagram this Tuesday (1st), in response to a new law that requires digital giants to pay for this content. “Links to news and content published by outlets in Canada will no longer be accessible to people in Canada,” the company announced. WhatsApp Communities: find out how to participate in g1 groups News published on foreign websites will also not be visible to Canadian users of Facebook and Instagram. According to Meta, the changes will be implemented over the next few weeks. An AFP reporter managed to see news on Facebook today, but some users reported that they had received messages warning that this content was being blocked. Google, another critic of the digital news law, said it was considering a similar resolution amid a global debate as more governments try to make tech companies pay for news content. Why WhatsApp stops working on older cellphones The new law seeks to support Canada’s news production industry after hundreds of publications were shut down over the past decade. The text requires digital giants to make agreements with Canadian media and news sites involving the news and information shared on their platforms. According to Meta, the project is flawed and is based on “the incorrect premise that Meta unfairly benefits from news content shared on our platforms, when the opposite is correct”. The media shares content on Facebook and Instagram to attract readers, which helps their own bottom line, the company added: “People using our platforms don’t come to us for news.” Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge called the news block irresponsible and pointed out that 80% of digital advertising revenue in Canada goes to Meta and Google. “A free and independent press is fundamental to our democracy”, said the minister, adding that other countries are considering introducing legislation similar to Canada’s “to face the same challenges”.

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