Canadians would no longer be able to access news on Facebook or Instagram if the federal government香蕉视频直播檚 proposed Online News Act passes in its current form, the parent company behind the two popular social media platforms said.

Meta spokesperson Lisa Laventure shared the decision in an email on Saturday, saying the bill香蕉视频直播檚 current provisions would place the company in an untenable position.

香蕉视频直播淎 legislative framework that compels us to pay for links or content that we do not post, and which are not the reason the vast majority of people use our platforms, is neither sustainable nor workable,香蕉视频直播� she wrote.

Tech giants like Meta and Google have long fought against the proposed law known as Bill C-18, which would require digital giants such as Meta and Google to negotiate deals that would compensate Canadian media companies for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online.

Large Canadian media companies and the federal Liberal government have supported the bill, saying it would level the playing field for news outlets that compete with tech firms for advertising dollars.

香蕉视频直播淥nce again, it香蕉视频直播檚 disappointing to see that Facebook has resorted to threats instead of working with the Canadian government in good faith,香蕉视频直播� Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said in a statement.

香蕉视频直播淭his tactic didn香蕉视频直播檛 work in Australia, and it won香蕉视频直播檛 work here.香蕉视频直播�

His remarks were a reference to Facebook香蕉视频直播檚 move to block access to news in Australia after a similar law was discussed in 2021. The tech company quickly backtracked after the Australian government made changes to an arbitration mechanism in the bill.

But the company has since threatened to block news access in other countries such as the United States, where Congress was considering similar legislation last year known as the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act.

Facebook has been floating the potential to block news access in Canada for many months as Bill C-18 wound through parliament.

Marc Dinsdale, Meta Canada香蕉视频直播檚 head of media partnerships, raised the idea in an October 2022 statement, where he argued the proposed legislation presumes his company 香蕉视频直播渦nfairly benefits from its relationship with publishers, when in fact the reverse is true.香蕉视频直播�

He claimed posts with links to news articles made up less than three per cent of what people see in their Facebook feed and said Canadians tell his company they want to see less news and political content on its platforms.

香蕉视频直播淲e have repeatedly shared with the government that news content is not a draw for our users and is not a significant source of revenue for our company,香蕉视频直播� he said.

But Rodriguez and publishers have argued tech companies are snatching advertising revenues away from media companies.

A 2018 report from the Canadian Media Concentration Project revealed Google had snagged half the country香蕉视频直播檚 internet advertising market share that year, with Facebook trailing at 27.3 per cent and Bell, Torstar, Twitter and Postmedia sitting at under 2 per cent each.

That equates to $3.8 billion in advertising revenue for Google, up from $2.8 billion in 2016.

Facebook made $2.1 billion in advertising in 2018, while Bell made $146 million, Torstar earned $120 million, Twitter got $117.5 million and Postmedia made $116.4 million.

Yet Facebook has argued that it is helping publishers rather than harming them.

The company香蕉视频直播檚 feed delivered more than 1.9 billion clicks worth $230 million to publishers in the 12 months leading up to April 2022, Dinsdale said.

This content was all voluntarily placed on Facebook by publishers, he added.

香蕉视频直播淲e are being asked to acquiesce to a system that lets publishers charge us for as much content as they want to supply at a price with no clear limits,香蕉视频直播� he wrote.

香蕉视频直播淣o business can operate this way.香蕉视频直播�

But Rodriguez said Canadians 香蕉视频直播渨on香蕉视频直播檛 be intimidated香蕉视频直播� by Meta香蕉视频直播檚 tactics.

香蕉视频直播淎ll Facebook has done up to this point is show up at committee, delay, obstruct, refuse to answer questions, and threaten Canadians,香蕉视频直播� he said.

香蕉视频直播淲e香蕉视频直播檝e always said we香蕉视频直播檙e open to working with Facebook, and we still are.香蕉视频直播�

Google recently began a five-week test that limited access to news for some Canadian users. It is set to end March 16.

At a House of Commons heritage committee meeting on the bill on Friday, Sabrina Geremia, the head of Google Canada, argued the proposed legislation would 香蕉视频直播渞adically change香蕉视频直播� the framework her company uses to host free news links.

香蕉视频直播淭he bill is a moving target, with key questions left unanswered,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淲e don香蕉视频直播檛 know if we will be able to continue to link to news as we do today, so we are testing potential changes to the way we currently freely link to news under that framework.香蕉视频直播�

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Meta funds a limited number of fellowships that support emerging journalists at The Canadian Press.

Torstar holds an investment in The Canadian Press as part of a joint agreement with subsidiaries of the Globe and Mail and Montreal香蕉视频直播檚 La Presse.

The Canadian Press

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