Two years after Australia’s landmark Facebook showdown, it’s happening again overseas

  • Article

Name

Two years after Australia’s landmark Facebook showdown, it’s happening again overseas

Description

Meta announced it has started removing news articles for Facebook and Instagram users in Canada, a change made in response to the country’s Online News Act, a law that forces tech companies such as Meta and Google to pay news outlets for their content.

Types

Article

Authors

Antonio Pequeño IV

Avatar

Claims from

Bill C-18 is modelled after the News media bargaining code, a similar law passed in Australia in 2021, which also requires companies like Meta and Google to pay a negotiated fee for news content or enter arbitration if a deal cannot be reached.
Meta has pushed against the law for several months, claiming that posts with links to news articles make up less than 3% of what users see on their Facebook feeds and that the clicks it provides to news publishers were worth an estimated $173 million in free marketing.
The Online News Act, which took effect on June 22 (2023) requires internet companies to negotiate commercial deals with news publishers for the use of their content.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said that the law is "based on a fundamentally flawed premise" and that the company's only means of complying with it is to end news availability in Canada.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has said that it will not comply with the law and will instead block news content from its platforms in Canada.

Cover

Publish date

08

Month
/

01

Day
/

2023

Year

12

:

00

am

Publisher

Forbes

Topics

Facebook and Instagram's news blackout in Canada

Web URL

https://www.forbes.com.au/news/innovation/meta-removes-stories-from-instagram-and-facebook-in-canada/

Referenced by

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has said that it will not comply with the law and will instead block news content from its platforms in Canada.

News

Claim

The Online News Act, which took effect on June 22 (2023) requires internet companies to negotiate commercial deals with news publishers for the use of their content.

News

Claim

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said that the law is "based on a fundamentally flawed premise" and that the company's only means of complying with it is to end news availability in Canada.

News

Claim