Meta Reaffirms Plan to Block News Access in Canada If Bill C-18 Passes

Meta Reaffirms Plan to Block News Access in Canada If Bill C-18 Passes
The Meta logo in a photo illustration taken on Aug. 22, 2022. Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters
Matthew Horwood
Updated:
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A representative for the tech giant Meta said Monday that the company plans to block access to Canadian news content on its platforms if Parliament passes Bill C-18, which mandates that the company pay news publishers for hosting content.

“Ultimately, this legislation puts Meta in an unfavourable situation. In order to comply, we have to either operate in a flawed and unfair regulatory environment, or we have to end the availability of news content in Canada. With a heavy heart, we choose the latter,” Kevin Chan, Meta’s global policy director, said before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on May 8.