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Meta will remove news content from its Facebook and Instagram services in Canada, the company has confirmed. In a blog post on the company’s website, Meta details reasoning for the change in available news content.
“Today, we are confirming that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada prior to the Online News Act (Bill C-18) taking effect,” the post reads. The bill was passed earlier today. The decision to remove news from Facebook has been an ongoing stance that Meta has stood by since earlier this month. The company initially announced its plans for these changes on June 1.
Facebook says people accessing its platforms will no longer be able to get news while browsing feeds. This includes content from news publishers and broadcasters.
Meta may remove news from Facebook elsewhere
The decision made is in response to the Canadian government’s passing of the Online News Act. Which sought to come up with a solution to news publishers in Canada who have seen a significant decrease in revenue due to news being shared on Facebook and Google.
The bill would require tech companies like Facebook to reimburse publishers for lost revenue. A similar bill may pass in California called the California Journalism Preservation Act. This bill would seek a 70% share of the profits that Meta would make from news shared on its platforms. Which would then be used to support newsrooms within the state. Meta said back on June 1 that it would be “forced to remove news” from Facebook and Instagram in California if the state passes the bill.
And now that it’s doing just that for users in Canada, there’s no reason to believe it won’t do the same thing in California and elsewhere. The company says that its news removal from the two platforms won’t impact the products in other ways. Users will “still be able to connect with friends and family.”
Meta also states that the removal of news content in Canada is happening as a result of ongoing testing. This is in accordance with its agreement to comply with the bill. Only a small percentage of users are impacted though according to the company’s statement. Which likely means that some users may be able to access news content until there’s a fully developed solution.
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