Meta is preparing to block news for some Canadians on Facebook and Instagram in a temporary test that is expected to last the majority of the month.
The Silicon Valley tech giant is following in the steps of Google, which blocked news links for about five weeks earlier this year for some of its Canadian users in response to a controversial Liberal government bill.
Bill C-18, which is currently being studied in the Senate, will require tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online.
Meta said it香蕉视频直播檚 prepared to block news permanently on Facebook and Instagram if the bill passes, which the government said could happen this month.
Rachel Curran, head of public policy for Meta Canada, said this first temporary move will affect one to five per cent of its 24 million Canadian users, with the number of those impacted fluctuating throughout the test.
Randomly selected Canadian users will not be able to see or share news content in Canada either on Instagram or Facebook.
She said that could include news links to articles, reels 香蕉视频直播� which are short-form videos 香蕉视频直播� or stories, which are photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours.
However, the experience won香蕉视频直播檛 be the same for every user who is subject to the test.
香蕉视频直播淚t won香蕉视频直播檛 be a uniform experience, necessarily. Some news links won香蕉视频直播檛 be shareable on Facebook, but it might not be that experience on Instagram. It will be a different experience on different surfaces,香蕉视频直播� Curran said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said in a statement Thursday evening that the fact that Facebook is still refusing to work with Canadians shows how deeply irresponsible the company is.
香蕉视频直播淲hen a big tech company, whatever the size is, the amount of money and the powerful lawyers they have, they come here and they tell us, 香蕉视频直播業f you don香蕉视频直播檛 do this or that, then I香蕉视频直播檓 pulling the plug,香蕉视频直播� 香蕉视频直播� that香蕉视频直播檚 a threat and that is unacceptable,香蕉视频直播� he said in the statement.
香蕉视频直播淚 never did anything because I was afraid of a threat, and I will never do it.香蕉视频直播�
Rodriguez added in a tweet that 香蕉视频直播淐anadians will not be intimidated by these tactics.香蕉视频直播�
Meta said it is picking random news publishers that will be notified that some people in Canada will not be able to see or share their news content throughout the test. They will still be able to access their accounts, pages, businesses suites and advertising.
International news companies such as the New York Times or BBC could also have their content blocked in Canada during the test, if they are randomly selected. However, people outside of Canada will not be affected.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 only going to impact your experience 香蕉视频直播� if you香蕉视频直播檙e in Canada,香蕉视频直播� Curran said.
Meta is defining news as it香蕉视频直播檚 described in the Liberal government香蕉视频直播檚 online news act.
香蕉视频直播淭he legislation states that news outlets are in scope if they primarily report on, investigate or explain current issues or events of public interests,香蕉视频直播� said Curran.
Content that doesn香蕉视频直播檛 fall under that definition will not be blocked from Canadians. When Facebook blocked news in Australia in 2021 because of a similar bill, there was widespread concern that trusted sources would be unavailable, while pages that published misinformation flourished.
Curran said affected Canadians will still be able to use their platforms to access information from a variety of sources including government pages, organizations and universities.
香蕉视频直播淲e think all of that is good information. They香蕉视频直播檙e also seeing and sharing things that interest them and entertain them. We would not classify that as misinformation. That香蕉视频直播檚 great information and that will continue to be shared and to be viewable,香蕉视频直播� Curran said, adding that the company will continue to address misinformation on its site through a global fact-checking program.
Meta香蕉视频直播檚 test is designed to ensure that non-news agencies don香蕉视频直播檛 get caught in the dragnet should they block news permanently.
The company said it doesn香蕉视频直播檛 want to accidentally block emergency services, community organizations, politicians or government pages, which happened in Australia.
Legacy media and broadcasters have praised the federal Liberals香蕉视频直播� online news bill because it would bring in more money for shrinking newsrooms. Companies such as Meta and Google have been blamed for disrupting and dominating the advertising industry, eclipsing smaller, traditional players.
Curran said removing journalism from Meta香蕉视频直播檚 platforms is a business decision, and the company makes 香蕉视频直播渘egligible amounts香蕉视频直播� of revenue from news content.
The company said less than three per cent of what people see in their Facebook feeds are posts with links to news articles, and many of its users believe that is already 香蕉视频直播渢oo much香蕉视频直播� news.
香蕉视频直播淲e香蕉视频直播檙e facing a lot of competitive pressures and competition for user time and attention. We香蕉视频直播檙e also facing some pretty serious economic headwinds, and a macro economic climate that香蕉视频直播檚 a bit uncertain,香蕉视频直播� Curran said.
香蕉视频直播淥f course news have value from a social perspective. It香蕉视频直播檚 valuable to our democracy. It just doesn香蕉视频直播檛 have much commercial or economic value to our company.香蕉视频直播�
Mickey Djuric, The Canadian Press
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