Justin Trudeau insists on maintaining pressure on Facebook to pay for news, despite Meta’s resistance.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated on Friday that Ottawa will continue to urge Meta to adhere to a recent law that mandates prominent internet companies to remunerate Canadian news publishers for their content. However, despite the government’s efforts, the parent company of Facebook remains steadfast in its choice to prohibit news sharing instead of making payments. The final regulations for the Online News Act were released by the government on Friday, with enforcement scheduled to commence on December 19. According to the law, technology firms with over 20 million unique monthly users and annual revenues exceeding C$1 billion ($748 million) must compensate Canadian news outlets for featuring links to their articles.
Alphabet’s Google and Meta are the only platforms that meet these criteria in Canada. Google last month pledged to pay C$100 million annually to news publishers in the country. Instead, Meta decided to block news on Facebook and Instagram in Canada to avoid payments.
“We continue to push Meta, which makes billions of dollars in profits, even as it refuses to invest in journalistic discipline and stability in the media,” Trudeau told reporters in Vancouver.
Meta said he would stick to his decision. “News agencies choose to use our free services because it helps their bottom line, and today’s final regulations do not change our business decision,” said Rachel Curran, director of public policy at Meta Canada.
The law, part of a global trend, is designed to address concerns in Canada’s media industry about falling revenues as Internet companies push news companies out of the online advertising market.
Meta began blocking news sharing on Facebook and Instagram in August, saying the news had no financial value to its companies.
Cultural Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is “paying close attention to Facebook and Meta” as part of its enforcement.
Paul Deegan, CEO of industry association News Media Canada, said the government has delivered a “sustainable, world-leading framework that is balanced and predictable for both news publishers and platforms,” and urged Meta to follow Google’s lead.
