Meta platforms begins blocking news for Canadian users

Changes are in response to legislation aimed at obtaining compensation for domestic media.

Canada’s Parliament has passed legislation compelling digital platforms to compensate media outlets for links. Picture: Getty Images

After months of warnings, Meta Platforms started to block access to news links for Facebook and Instagram users in Canada, raising the stakes in a showdown over whether digital companies should finance news outlets.

“Changes will roll out over a few weeks,” Meta spokesman Andy Stone said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “As we’ve always said, the law is based on a fundamentally flawed premise. Regrettably, the only way we can reasonably comply is to end news availability in Canada.”

Meta and Alphabet’s Google have taken a hard line against Canadian legislation passed by parliament in June that compels digital platforms to compensate media outlets for links. This approach reflects the companies’ concern about a contagion effect – that every jurisdiction will try to mimic Canada’s approach and get the Silicon Valley companies to help finance news-gathering.

The US Senate judiciary committee approved proposed legislation that is similar in scope to what Canada approved. New Zealand introduced a proposal last year to persuade digital platforms to reach voluntary deals with news outlets, and South Africa and Brazil are considering regulations.

Google has said it would remove links to Canadian news articles on its search function for Canadian users when authorities start enforcing the legislation, which is expected to happen late this year when regulations become final.

Meta’s decision on Canadian links resembles its move in February 2021 to block news on the Facebook platform in Australia in a dispute over payment for content. Meta lifted the ban several days later after the company extracted concessions from the federal government.

There is no sign of compromise in Canada. “We have been transparent and have made it clear to the Canadian government that the legislation misrepresents the value news outlets receive when choosing to use our platforms,” Meta said in a statement. “The legislation is based on the incorrect premise that Meta benefits unfairly from news content shared on our platforms, when the reverse is true.”

Michael Geist, a professor at the University of Ottawa, doesn’t expect Meta to backtrack. “The world is watching, and with the prospect of other countries introducing laws to address support for media, Meta is keenly aware that reversing its position in Canada would be tantamount to inviting other countries to introduce similar legislation,” he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has likened the fight to World War II. “They made the wrong choice by deciding to attack Canada,” he said in July. “Canadians will not be bullied by billionaires in the US.”

The Wall Street Journal