Canadians could lose access to news content on Facebook if Ottawa enforces Bill C-18 as it stands, the Globe and Mail reported Saturday morning.
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As English-language media learned, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, made the decision earlier this week, fearing the uncertain financial burden the legislation would entail.
Bill C-18 seeks to force web giants like Google and Meta to compensate media companies for posting or linking to their news content. Note that the bill has been approved by the House of Commons and is currently being analyzed by the Senate.
“If the Online News Act is passed in its current form, we will end the availability of news content on Facebook and Instagram to Canadians,” Meta spokeswoman Lisa Laventure told Globe and Mail.
According to her, news content makes up just 3% of what Canadians consume on social media. “A legal framework that forces us to pay for links or content that we do not post and that is not why the vast majority of people use our platform is neither sustainable nor feasible,” added Ms. Laventure.
Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez was asked to comment on the issue and said Meta’s decision was a threat to persuade Ottawa to make changes that would reduce the amounts tech platforms would need to broadcast to Canadian media to pay. The same tactic was used by Facebook in Australia when the government passed a similar law.
“That tactic didn’t work in Australia and it won’t work here. Canadians are not intimidated. All we ask of Facebook is to negotiate fair deals with the media when they benefit from their work,” Rodriguez told the Globe and Mail.