Recently, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slammed Facebook for blocking local news content on its platform in the country at a time when the citizens are facing emergencies created by wildfire season, according to a report by Associated Press.
Meta’s move to block news published by Canadian media on its platform comes after the government passed a new law ‘The Online News Act’ in June this year. The new law requires tech companies like Google and Meta to pay Canadian publishers in order to link their news reports on their platforms.
In June, Google announced that it would be removing links to Canadian news from its Search, News, and Discover products once Canada’s law comes into effect. Google will no longer operate Google News Showcase in the country either. The tech giant is yet to implement the move, but Meta has already removed links to local news from Facebook and Instagram.
Similar to an online news bill brought by Australia a few years ago, the law allows publishers and news outlets to privately negotiate how much the latter should be paid. Commentators have noted that the move can help sustain Canadian publishers suffering from declining ad revenues.
In this video, MediaNama Founder-Editor Nikhil Pahwa decodes whether platforms must pay news publishers for linking their articles and its implications on access to information on the internet.
Watch the video to know more:
Also Read:
- Why Google Is Not Showing News To Some Users In Canada And Why It Matters To India
- UK News Publishers Sue Google For Unfairly Depriving Them Of Ad Revenue
- US’s New Bill To Make Google, Facebook Pay For Digital News Content: Takeaways For India
- India Looking To Make Google, Facebook Compensate News Publishers: Report
