Meta has refused to revoke the suspension of news on Facebook and Instagram in Canada despite the government’s attempt at addressing concerns pertaining to the legislation that requires tech giants to pay for news content.
The concerns persist from the Online News Act or Bill C-18, which obliges internet corporations to compensate publishers for featuring their content on social media platforms. The Canadian government and leading tech companies, particularly Meta and Google, are at odds over the contentious legislation, which has resulted in the blocking of news content from Facebook and Instagram.
The country unveiled draft rules for the implementation of the Online News Act last week, saying it would address concerns at Meta and Google regarding the legislation. Despite the government’s attempts at appeasing the tech giants, Meta refused to suspend the blocking of news content in the country. The Facebook parent said that the rules would not “impact our business decision to end news availability in Canada”.
The draft regulations will oblige tech companies to negotiate deals with media houses voluntarily and compensate them with a portion of their global revenues. The legislation aims to raise roughly $126 million a year from Google and more than $40 million from Meta. If news outlets and tech companies fail to strike voluntary deals, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) may intervene with a mandatory bargaining.
Google, on the other hand, said it was reviewing the proposed draft regulations “to assess whether they resolve the serious structural issues” with the disputed media act. The search engine giant had earlier announced blocking news content too when the Online News Act would come into effect in December. It called the the law a “wrong approach to support journalism”.
Since the Online News Act became law in June, Meta has repeatedly raised objections to the basis of the legislation. Meta has refuted publishers’ claims that it profits heavily off their content and claimed that featuring news content on Facebook and Instagram brings visibility and other benefits to news outlets instead. Both and Meta and Google have termed the Online News Act “unworkable” for their business models.
Meta began blocking links to news articles in the Canadian market last month, eventually following through with its persistent threats in response to the legislation. Following the removal of news content, the Canadian regulator announced that it would work on a framework to help initiate negotiations between news outlets and tech companies.
Meta’s refusal to budge on its decision, however, only goes on to show there is no middle ground in sight as of yet and that the Canadian government might find itself in a more challenging position on the matter.
