Facebook Removes News Content from Canadian Feeds: Meta's Decision - ChiefIdea

According to Meta, it will take news stories off of Canadian users' Facebook and Instagram feeds.

The action comes after the country's adoption of the Online News Act, which mandates that tech giants like Google and Meta compensate news organizations for the content they highlight in their social feeds.

Large digital companies must establish business agreements with news publishers for their news and audio-visual content under a Canadian law that took effect on June 22.

"The law is based on a fundamentally flawed premise," claims Andy Stone, a representative for Meta. And tragically, cutting off access to news in Canada is the only way we can reasonably comply.

According to Meta, less than 3% of Canadians' media consumption is made up of news stories on its platform.

Kent Walker, Google's President of Global Affairs, has stated that the company is also eliminating links to Canadian news websites from search results in Canada since it is "the wrong approach to supporting journalism in Canada."

The act was created to support Canada's journalism sector, which between 2008 and 2021 experienced the closure of 450 news outlets.

Soon, Meta might also have to deal with a California law of a similar nature.

According to the California Journalism Preservation Act, a similar amount of money must be collected.

This legislation is presently awaiting a Senate hearing after passing the state assembly in June 2023.

Meta has stated that it will also restrict access to news on the platform in California if the legislation is approved by the Senate.

Both of these laws are based on a 2021-passed Australian statute. The rule mandates that tech corporations bargain a price for content or, if a deal cannot be made, submit to arbitration.

Since the law was passed more than two years ago, at least 30 transactions between digital companies and Australian news organizations have been made, according to the Australian government, which feels this has benefited the nation's journalists.

Google and Meta both made loud protests against the Australian news law. - Digital Music News