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In Canada, people will not be able to read news on Facebook and Instagram as Meta has started blocking Canadians’ access to news on those social media platforms, the company announced Tuesday. This follows a new law requiring digital giants to pay publishers for this type of content, according to a report published by AFP.

In an official statement, Meta said: “News links and content published by news publishers and broadcasters in Canada will no longer be visible to Canadians. »

Canadian users of Facebook and Instagram will not be able to view news published on foreign sites, the company said, adding that they will no longer be able to share articles on the two platforms.

Meta informed that it started implementing the changes on Tuesday and will cover the entire country in the coming weeks. AFP reported.

However, a AFP The journalist was still able to see the information on Facebook yesterday, but some users said they had already received messages indicating that this content was blocked.

Another critic of the law on online information, Google is also considering a similar approach. The Online News Act builds on similar legislation introduced in Australia that aims to prop up a struggling Canadian news sector.

In October 2022, a report from Canada’s parliamentary budget watchdog estimated that the legislation could allow Canadian newspapers to receive approximately C$330 million (US$250 million) per year from digital platforms.

“The bill is flawed and is based on the erroneous assumption that Meta unfairly benefits from news content shared on our platforms when the opposite is true,” Meta was quoted as saying by AFP.

He adds that media outlets share content on Facebook and Instagram to improve their own results, they do not come to social media platforms for information.

Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge called the decision to block the information “irresponsible,” noting that 80 per cent of all online advertising revenue in Canada goes to Meta and Google.

“A free and independent press is fundamental to our democracy. Other countries are considering introducing similar legislation “to address the same challenges,” he said.