Meta to follow through on Facebook, Instagram block in Canada after content bill advances

Canadians will no longer be able to share content on Facebook and Instagram, after the country’s legislature passed a law requiring the social media platforms to pay news outlets to share their stories.

Meta, the parent company of the platforms, announced Thursday that it would follow through on plans to block the platforms.

“We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18, passed today in Parliament, content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be available to people accessing our platforms in Canada,” Meta leaders said in a statement reviewed by The Washington Post.

The Online News Act is part of a package of measures by the Canadian government to rein in American tech giants. 

Legacy media outlets have praised the bill, saying it lessens the dominance held by Big Tech, such as Meta and Google, in the news distribution industry. The tech companies are not required to comply with the new law for six months.

The Canadian law is modeled after a 2021 Australian regulation. California is considering similar legislation.

Meta leveled similar threats at the Australian government but later relented.

“The fact that these internet giants would rather cut off Canadians’ access to local news than pay their fair share is a real problem,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this month. “It’s not going to work.”

Tech companies will now have to negotiate distribution deals with local media to link their content in the apps’ news feeds — or the companies can go to arbitration.

Google spokeswoman Jenn Crider called the law “unworkable” Tuesday.

“Every step of the way, we’re proposed thoughtful and pragmatic solutions that would have improved the bill and cleared the path for us to increase our already significant investments in the Canadian news ecosystem,” Crider said. 

“So far, none of our concerns have been addressed,” she added.