Meta starts blocking messages on Facebook and Instagram for some Canadians

In response to a Liberal government bill that could soon come into force, Meta META-Q has begun blocking messages for some Canadians on its Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Chris Dell, News Editor of ChrisD.caa Winnipeg-based digital news company, said some readers told him Monday they could no longer access content the company posted on Facebook.

“It appears that Meta is blocking some of our content, but not all,” Dell said in a statement Tuesday.

He says it’s unfortunate that these measures are being taken in response to the Online News Act, which would require tech giants to pay publishers to link to or otherwise repurpose news content.

“As a small local news channel, most of our traffic comes from Facebook and Google. “I hope that an amicable settlement can be reached between Silicon Valley and Ottawa that doesn’t leave publishers in the middle,” Dell said.

Meta is running a test temporarily banning news content for up to five percent of its Canadian users for most of the month, and said it started that test last week.

The company said it is working on an “effective product solution to end news availability in Canada” to comply with Bill C-18 if it becomes law.

Paul Deegan, president of News Media Canada, said some Quebec newspapers were also blocked on Facebook during the test, which he says represents an abuse of Meta’s dominant position.

“Meta has just exponentially increased the opportunities for bad actors, including hostile foreign governments, to sow the seeds of misinformation and disinformation that will ultimately nullify the platform, undermine its own shareholder value and undermine social cohesion,” Deegan said Tuesday in a statement.

“Democratic governments, regulators, law enforcement, publishers, advertisers and those around the world who value a free and pluralistic press should be greatly alarmed.”

On Tuesday, a Senate committee completed its phased consideration of the bill after a single two-hour session, passing about 12 amendments with a majority in favor of the government.

The bill is expected to enter its third reading in the Senate this week.

The Liberal government has expressed its desire to have the bill enacted before parliamentarians head into the summer late next week.