Meta to end news access for Canadians if Online News Act becomes law

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc mentioned on Saturday that it might finish availability of news content material for Canadians on its platforms if the nation’s Online News Act passes in its present kind.

The “Online News Act,” or House of Commons invoice C-18, launched in April final yr laid out guidelines to drive platforms like Meta and Alphabet Inc.’s Google to barter business offers and pay news publishers for his or her content material.

“A legislative framework that compels us to pay for links or content that we do not post, and which are not the reason the vast majority of people use our platforms, is neither sustainable nor workable,” a Meta spokesperson mentioned as motive to droop news entry within the nation.

Meta’s transfer comes after Google final month began testing restricted news censorship as a possible response to the invoice.

Canada’s news media business has requested the federal government for extra regulation of tech firms to permit the business to recoup monetary losses it has suffered within the years as tech giants like Google and Meta steadily achieve higher market share of promoting.

The Department of Canadian Heritage didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters’ request for touch upon Meta’s transfer to finish news entry within the nation.

Facebook final yr raised issues in regards to the laws and warned it is perhaps pressured to dam news-sharing on its platform.

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