Meta goes on the offensive and officially shuts down news distribution on Facebook and Instagram after the Senate finally passed Bill C-18 that would force web giants to pay media companies for their content.
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The blocking will be initiated “before the law on online news comes into force”, confirmed a PR specialist from the company TACT, which was hired by Meta for public relations.
“We have repeatedly stated that to comply with Bill C-18, content shared by media companies, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be accessible to Facebook and Instagram users in Canada,” the latter wrote.
The minister behind the case, Pablo Rodriguez, replied: “Facebook is well aware that it has no legal obligation at this time.”
It only remained for Gov. General Mary Simon to sanction the law, possibly Thursday evening, so that C-18 finally becomes law, a formality. Under C-18, companies covered by the law must enter into media agreements within the next year.
Meetings between the minister’s office and Facebook and Google took place this week, but relations between Ottawa and these powerful platforms appear to be at an all-time low.
“If the government can’t defend Canadians against the internet giants, who will?” Minister Rodriguez said.
Meta, in turn, says that “changes that affect news content will have no further impact” on its products and services in Canada.
“We want to reassure the millions of Canadians who use our platforms that they will always be able to connect with friends and family, grow their business and support their local communities,” continued Louis-Martin Leclerc of the Agency TACT, which carries the voice of Meta.
The President of the Quebec Journalists’ Association (PJQ), Michaël Nguyen, believes that “Meta is doing its best in the hope of continuing to make huge profits on the backs of the media”.
“Blocking access to news verified by information experts opens even more wide open doors to disinformation, a scourge plaguing the world because the digital giants are unwilling to fight it,” stressed Mr Nguyen, the elect urging officials not to give in to this blackmail and anti-democratic gestures.”