Meta’s News Block Causes Chaos as Canada Burns

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Name

Meta’s News Block Causes Chaos as Canada Burns

Description

Facebook and Instagram have blocked posts from news sites after the Canadian government told Meta to pay publishers—leaving people unable to access vital information during wildfires.

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Article

Authors

Tracey Lindeman

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The Online News Act, or Bill C-18, was introduced in response to concerns about the dominance of Meta and Google in the digital advertising market.
Despite the ban, people have found ways to share news stories by posting screenshots what has led to confusion and misinformation.
Facebook and Google control 80% of the digital advertising market in Canada, leaving the news industry to compete for the remaining 20%.
Canada has lost 474 local news outlets since 2008 and Facebook's decision to center its design around the newsfeed
In a May 2023 statement, Nick Clegg, president of global affairs at Meta, said that news represents just 3% of the content that Facebook users see in their feeds.
Meta has defended its decision to block news content in Canada, saying that Canadians can still read the news by visiting news outlets' websites.
Meta was prepared to continue blocking news events in an emergency

Publish date

08

Month
/

28

Day
/

2023

Year

12

:

00

am

Publisher

WIRED

Topics

Facebook and Instagram's news blackout in Canada

Web URL

https://www.wired.com/story/meta-facebook-instagram-news-block-canada-wildfire/

Referenced by

Tracey Lindeman

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Facebook and Instagram's news blackout in Canada

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