The Canadian government announced Wednesday it would halt advertising on Facebook and Instagram in response to Meta’s decision to block access to news content on its social platforms as part of a temporary test.
Culture Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government decision at a press conference. Canada’s move is the latest episode in a dispute that began after Trudeau’s government proposed legislation requiring tech companies to pay publishers to link or otherwise reuse their online content. Meta vowed to block Canadian news content on its Facebook and Instagram platforms to accommodate Canada’s recently passed Online News Act.
Rodriguez said Meta’s decision was “unreasonable” and “irresponsible” and Canada will therefore stop advertising on its platforms. He said the federal government spends about CA$10 million annually on advertising on the platforms. That money, he added, will go to other advertising campaigns. Shortly after the federal announcement, Quebec Premier
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said on Twitter that the city would stop advertising on Facebook. Reacting to Canada’s recent announcement, a Meta spokesperson said the Online News Act is “flawed legislation that ignores the reality of how our platforms work.” He said the company doesn’t collect links to news content to display on its social platforms and that it’s the publishers who decide to post it on Facebook or Instagram.
“Unfortunately, the regulatory process is unable to make changes to the fundamental features of the legislation that have always been problematic, and as such we plan to address that by ending news availability in Canada in the coming weeks,” the spokesman said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.
Google has also promised to start blocking Canadian news as soon as the bill goes into effect in six months. Rodriguez said the government is in talks with the company and expects future regulations to implement the bill will address their concerns.
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