Meta has begun a test that temporarily blocks access to news content for some Canadian users on its Facebook and Instagram platforms in response to the Online News Act, a Liberal government bill, and Canadian publishers are not happy.
The bill completed third reading in the Senate on June 15 and a message was sent to the House of Commons the same day. The Liberals have said they want the bill to be implemented into law before summer break at the end of the week ending June 23.
In a statement issued the same day, Dell said readers had reported they could not access content posted by his outfit on Facebook.
“It appears Meta is blocking some of our content, but not all of it,” Dell said.
“As a small local news outlet, the majority of our traffic comes from Facebook and Google. My hope is that an amicable agreement can be reached between Silicon Valley and Ottawa that doesn’t leave publishers caught in the middle,” Dell said.
Quebec Newspapers Blocked
Another news publisher, Paul Deegan, president of News Media Canada, said some newspapers in Quebec are also being blocked on Facebook during Meta’s tests, saying the platform is abusing its dominant position in the tech marketplace.“Meta has just exponentially increased opportunities for bad actors, including hostile foreign governments, to sow the seeds of misinformation and disinformation, which will ultimately undo the platform, erode its own shareholder value and undermine social cohesion,” Deegan said in a statement on June 13.
“Democratic governments, regulators, enforcement agencies, publishers, advertisers and those around the world who value a free and plural press should be very alarmed,” he said.
Sébastien Ménard, editor-in-chief of Le Journal de Québec, said his outlet’s news is also being blocked from Facebook readers. News shared by fellow Quebecor-owned properties Le Journal de Montréal and TVA Nouvelles are also reportedly being blocked.
Trudeau Alleges ‘Bullying’
In response to news that some French-language media outlets and smaller local news agencies are being blocked by Facebook, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was “unacceptable” and suggested it was attacking democracy in Canada.Trudeau said tech companies are making skyrocketing profits while “local journalism has struggled in terms of getting news out to people in ways that matter locally.”
“Canadians need to be able to access news. It’s fundamental to their democracy. We’re not going to put up with Facebook’s bullying,” Trudeau told reporters on June 13.
Pablo Rodriguez, Heritage Minister, also said that Meta is trying to intimidate the Canadian government.
“When a big tech company, whatever the size is, the amount of money and the powerful lawyers they have, they come here and they tell us, ‘If you don’t do this or that, then I’m pulling the plug,’ - that’s a threat and that is unacceptable,” he said on June 1.
Meta is running tests most of June to temporarily block news content, which will affect up to five percent of Canadians using its platforms. The company said it is working toward an “effective production solution to end news availability in Canada” in order to comply with bill if it is passed into law.
Meta did not respond to an inquiry from The Epoch Times by press time.
