Poilievre Says New Federal Internet Regulations Read Like Orwell’s ‘1984’

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on June 11, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby)

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Ottawa’s internet regulations resemble George Orwell’s dystopian novel, “1984,” following Facebook’s suspension of Canadian news content after the passage of Bill C-18.

“I think it’s like ‘1984,’” Mr. Poilievre told reporters on Aug. 1, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter. “You have a prime minister passing a law to make news articles disappear from the internet.”

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, said in a statement on Aug. 2 that it had “begun the process of ending news availability in Canada” and that changes “start today and will be implemented for all people accessing Facebook and Instagram over the course of the next few weeks.”

Bill C-18, the Online News Act, was passed by Parliament on June 22. Under the act, major tech platforms like Google and Facebook must pay Canadian publishers a portion of the advertising revenue generated by links to those publishers’ news stories. In response, the tech giants have said they would stop linking to Canadian news rather than bear the additional costs and regulatory burden of the new law.

According to Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, the government should stand up to tech giants Google and Meta over their plans to remove Canadian news from their platforms by the end of the year, when the Online News Act will go into effect.

“Facebook has decided to be unreasonable, irresponsible, and started blocking news. This is why today, we are announcing the government of Canada will be suspending advertising on Facebook and Instagram,” Mr. Rodriguez said at a news conference on July 5.

“If the government and politicians don’t stand up against that kind of bullying or intimidation, who will?”

Making the case that the new legislation is in line with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the federal government issued a Charter Statement on June 21, saying that the legislation’s “measures seek to support the continued production and widespread availability of news content. This advances the fundamental values underpinning expressive freedoms in Canada.”

“Consistent with these values, the regime will be accessible to a wide array of news businesses, including very small news businesses and those negotiating in groups,” the statement said.

“The Bill also expressly provides that it is to be interpreted and applied in a manner that is consistent with freedom of expression, journalistic independence, and the neutral treatment of news content by digital news intermediaries.”

Bill C-18 will come into force at the end of the year, giving the federal government time to decide on how it will proceed with regulations.