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Social media giant Meta has announced its decision to remove news content from its popular platforms, Facebook and Instagramin Canada. According to a report by Reuters, the company has been planning to make this change once parliament-approved legislation requiring internet giants to pay news publishers comes into effect. This new Canadian law is called the Online News Act.The country’sSenate upper chamber has already approved the proposal and is set to become law once it receives royal assent from the governor-general. In a statement, Meta said: “We are confirming that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada prior to the Online News Act taking effect.”
Why Canada is introducing such a law
Canada’s media industry asked for tighter regulations against tech companies to prevent them from using the online advertising market for selling news. The act includes rules to force platforms such as Facebook and Alphabet’s Google to negotiate commercial deals and pay news publishers for their content. A similar law was passed in Australia in 2021.
How Meta and other tech companies have reacted to the law
For weeks, the Facebook-parent company has been planning such a move as the company believes that news has no economic value for its platforms. Meta also said that its users do not access its platforms for news.
Meanwhile, other US-based tech companies have said that the proposals are unsustainable for their businesses. Google has argued that the Canadian law is wider than the ones enacted in Australia and Europe. The tech giant said that this law is putting a price on news story links displayed in search results and may apply to outlets that do not produce news.
Why Canada is introducing such a law
Canada’s media industry asked for tighter regulations against tech companies to prevent them from using the online advertising market for selling news. The act includes rules to force platforms such as Facebook and Alphabet’s Google to negotiate commercial deals and pay news publishers for their content. A similar law was passed in Australia in 2021.
How Meta and other tech companies have reacted to the law
For weeks, the Facebook-parent company has been planning such a move as the company believes that news has no economic value for its platforms. Meta also said that its users do not access its platforms for news.
Meanwhile, other US-based tech companies have said that the proposals are unsustainable for their businesses. Google has argued that the Canadian law is wider than the ones enacted in Australia and Europe. The tech giant said that this law is putting a price on news story links displayed in search results and may apply to outlets that do not produce news.
Google has proposed that the law needs to be revised. The company said that the basis of payment should be applicable for displaying news content, instead of links. Google added that the law should also specify that only businesses that produce news and adhere to journalistic standards will be eligible for the payment.
Earlier, Google and Facebook also threatened to curtail their services in Australia when the country enacted a similar law. However, both companies eventually struck deals with Australian media companies after the country offered amendments to the rules.
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