Facebook Threatens to Block News Content in Canada Over Proposed Bill

Facebook says it could block news-sharing in Canada if the country passes legislation requiring search engines and social media networks to pay for linking to news articles. 

Facebook’s parent Meta mentioned the possibility on Friday as Canada’s parliament has begun considering Bill C-18(Opens in a new window), also known as The Online News Act. The legislation is designed to require internet platforms such as Facebook and Google to reach commercial agreements to share revenue with news organizations.

In a statement(Opens in a new window), Meta says the company shouldn’t have to pay news publishers at all. Rather, the social network provider argues it provides free marketing to media companies by making it easy for people to voluntarily share news articles online. 

Meta also says it makes little money from news content over the social network. “We have repeatedly shared with the government that news content is not a draw for our users and is not a significant source of revenue for our company,” Marc Dinsdale, Meta’s head of media partnerships in Canda, wrote in the post.  

As a result, Meta points out it might resort to blocking news-sharing if it’s forced to pay up. “No business can operate this way. If this draft legislation becomes law, creating globally unprecedented forms of financial liability for news links or content, we may be forced to consider whether we continue to allow the sharing of news content on Facebook in Canada as defined under the Online News Act,” Dinsdale added. 

The company is also upset it was never invited to speak on the legislation before a Canadian government committee.  However, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, who introduced Bill C-18, said Canadian officials held talks with Facebook as recently as last week, according(Opens in a new window) to The Wall Street Journal. 

The dispute mirrors what occurred in Australia when the country’s own government prepared to pass a similar law requiring Facebook and Google to pay news publishers. Initially, Facebook began blocking news article sharing in Australia. However, days later the company lifted the ban after the country’s government introduced an exemption that took into account Facebook’s existing efforts to fund news organizations. 

Canada introduced Bill C-18 to help(Opens in a new window) boost news organizations in the country, citing job cuts at Canadian media outlets that have undermined the quality of news gathering. But like Facebook, Google is also opposing the proposed legislation. In a statement(Opens in a new window) last week, the search giant argued before a Canadian government commission that the proposed legislation is flawed, and risks incentivizing misinformation. 

“Unlike the Australian code, C-18 defines Eligible News Businesses extremely broadly, and does not require a publisher to adhere to basic journalistic standards. This will lead to the proliferation of misinformation and clickbait,” the company claimed.