Users of Facebook and Instagram in Canada will be unable to access Canadian news after the country passed legislation mandating the digital giants to pay for such content.
The new rule requires digital behemoths to enter into fair economic agreements with Canadian media outlets for news and information provided on their platforms, or risk binding arbitration.
It expands on Australia’s groundbreaking New Media Bargaining Code, which aims to make Google and Meta pay for news content on their platforms.
Australia, too, had accused the two dominant online advertising corporations of siphoning money away from conventional news organizations while using their material for free.
Another critic of the Online News Act, Google, has previously stated that it is considering a similar approach.
The two Silicon Valley titans have spoken out against the plan, which attempts to help Canada’s beleaguered journalism industry, which has seen hundreds of magazines close in the last decade.
“Exciting news! (No pun intended),” Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez tweeted after the bill passed a final hurdle in the Senate on its way to becoming law.
He said Meta’s decision to block news content was regrettable, but vowed to “stand up for Canadians against tech giants”.
His office said officials had a meeting with Facebook and Google this week and looked forward to further discussions about the new law.
Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slammed Meta for a trial run of blocking Canadian news content for some users.
Opposition to the bill, he said, was “flawed [and] dangerous to our democracy, to our economy”.
Google in February had also temporarily limited access to news for Canadian users of its popular search engine.
In a statement on Thursday, Meta said it was “confirming that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada”.
“The changes affecting news content will not otherwise impact Meta’s products and services in Canada,” it added.
Google spokesperson Jenn Crider said it is “doing everything we can to avoid an outcome that no-one wants” and is seeking to work with the government “on a path forward”.
The company has proposed amendments to the bill, but Crider said on Thursday: “So far, none of our concerns have been addressed.”
