For an entire year now, Canadians have been unable to share news on Facebook and Instagram. This ban followed the introduction of the Online News Act in June 2023. This new law provoked a lively debate, intense media coverage, and a political tug-of-war between Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, and the Canadian government. How are things looking a year later?
The Online News Act has been in effect since August 2023. According to the federal government, this law aims to increase fairness between media companies and the major web platforms that use their content. The idea is to promote a fair and viable Canadian digital news market for media companies.
In other words, this law requires that web platforms and companies fairly compensate the media who create online news, given the profits generated for the web platforms and companies by selling ads.
Which media companies are covered by this law?
The law covers companies that primarily produce news content. This includes newspapers, magazines, and television and radio stations that “report on, investigate or explain any current issues or events of public interest”, regardless of the medium.
To be legally considered a news business, one of the following four conditions must be met:
- Be a qualified Canadian journalism organization,
- Follow the code of ethics of a recognized journalistic association or have their own code of ethics that respects recognized processes and principles of journalism,
- Hold a license delivered by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), or
- Qualify as an Indigenous news outlet.
Meta’s retaliation
In response to this new law, Meta decided to make it impossible to share news on its platforms in Canada. For a year now, internet users in Canada have not been able to share news, either by creating new posts or by sharing other forms of content. If they attempt to do so, a message stating this content is unavailable in Canada will appear.
Despite this ban, some news media have seen an increase in views of their content. It seems that an increasing number of internet users are visiting the websites or applications of the news media directly now that they cannot rely on news being shared online. However, some media have seen a decrease in readership or audience, particularly local and community news media.
Sanctions ahead?
Some Facebook and Instagram users have apparently found a way to get around the ban. Meta has not yet been able to stop this. Given that news is circulating on social media, despite the ban, Meta may have to comply with the law and pay news producers for the content used.
It remains to be seen if the CRTC will intervene. The CRTC is an administrative tribunal that oversees radio and television broadcasting in Canada. It can therefore sanction companies that fail to comply with this new law. anadian news from its platforms. Links to Canadian news articles on its search engine, Google News and Google Discover will be unavailable to Canadian publishers and users.