Meta says it will remove access to news content on Facebook and Instagram for users in Canada after the nation’s lawmakers passed legislation designed to force internet giants that also include Google to pay news publishers for hosting their content.
The Online News Act was approved by the Senate upper chamber on Thursday and is set to be formally adopted soon. The law is designed to offer support for news organizations that have been struggling with vastly reduced ad revenue in the internet age.
Meta said the removal of news content from its platform for users in Canada will take place over the next few months.
In a statement shared by Meta shortly after the legislators gave the new law the nod, the company said: “Today, we are confirming that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada prior to the Online News Act taking effect.”
It added: “We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18 … content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be available to people accessing our platforms in Canada.”
Google had earlier complained that Canada’s law is too harsh and had suggested amendments to make it less so, Reuters reported. But Canada’s federal government rejected the idea, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accusing Meta and Google of deploying “bullying tactics” in their campaign against the legislation.
Responding to Thursday’s development, a Google spokesperson said: “We are continuing to urgently seek to work with the government on a path forward.”
Canada isn’t the only one to be taking action of this nature. Meta and Google have faced similar moves in Australia, while California and New Zealand are also considering comparable laws to support local news outlets. In Australia, Facebook restored news content after the government agreed to make amendments following talks.
In a similar case that’s ongoing in California, Meta said that if the law passes, it will be “forced to remove news from Facebook and Instagram rather than pay into a slush fund that primarily benefits big, out-of-state media companies under the guise of aiding California publishers.”
But surviving news outlets, especially those serving local areas, insist the income is needed to keep them afloat now that the tech giants scoop up so much of the ad revenue.
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