maaxx.ca

JAKARTA — The Canadian government on Friday (August 18) demanded that Meta Platform Inc. remove the “reckless” domestic news ban from its platform to allow people to share information about wildfires in the west of the country.

Meta this month began blocking news on its Facebook and Instagram platforms for all users in Canada, in response to a new law that would require the internet giant to pay for featured news stories.

Several people who fled a bushfire in the remote northern city of Yellowknife complained to national media that the ban prevented them from sharing important fire data.

“Meta’s reckless choice to block information… harms access to important information on Facebook and Instagram,” Culture Minister Pascale St-Onge said in a social media post.

“We’re asking them to re-enable news sharing today for the safety of Canadians facing this emergency. We need more news now, not less,” he said.

Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez previously said the ban meant people would not have access to critical information.

Chris Bittle, a lawmaker for the ruling Liberal Party, complained on Thursday August 17 that “Meta’s action to block information is reckless and irresponsible.”

Ollie Williams, who runs Cabin Radio digital radio station in Yellowknife, said Canadian Broadcasting Corporation., that people are uploading news screenshots to Facebook because they can’t share the link to the News Feed.

In response, a Meta spokesperson said via email that the company has enabled the feature “Security controleon Facebook that allows users to let people know they are safe after a natural disaster or crisis.

“Canadians can use Facebook and Instagram to access content from official government agencies, emergency services and non-governmental organizations,” the spokesperson added. Reuters.

Meta says users don’t come to its platform for information and that forcing the company to pay for content shared on its platform is unsustainable for its business.

Tags: meta platform inc facebook canada fire