Meta will end Canadians’ access to news if online news becomes law
Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc said on Saturday it would stop Canadians from accessing news content on its platforms if the country’s online news law is passed in its current form.
The “Online News Act,” or House of Commons Bill C-18, introduced in April last year, set rules to force platforms like Meta and Alphabet Inc.’s Google to negotiate commercial deals and pay news publishers for their content.
“A regulatory framework that forces us to pay for links or content that we don’t publish and that aren’t the reason most people use our platforms is neither sustainable nor workable,” a Meta spokesperson said of the news suspension. access to the country.
Meta’s move comes after Google last month began testing limited news censorship as a possible response to the bill.
Canada’s news media industry has asked the government for more regulation of tech companies to help the industry recoup the financial losses it has suffered over the years as tech giants like Google and Meta keep gaining more market share in advertising.
Canada’s Department of Cultural Heritage did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on Meta’s decision to end news coverage in the country.
Last year, Facebook expressed concerns about the legislation and warned that it might have to block news sharing on its platform.
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