Bill C-18 | Facebook threatens to remove content from Canadian media

The federal government’s proposed law forcing internet giants to negotiate commercial agreements with Canadian media disturbs Meta, Facebook’s parent company, which is threatening to end the sharing of Canadian news content on its platform.

Nicolas Berube
The Press

Joel-Denis Bellavance
The Press

“We believe that the Online News Act misrepresents the relationship between platforms and news publishers, and we call on the government to revisit its approach to help create a more equitable and sustainable news industry,” wrote Marc Dinsdale, head of media partnerships at Meta Canada, last Friday.

The adoption of the Online News Act (Bill C-18) could block news sharing on the platform in Canada, he said, adding that he regretted that the company was not invited to raise its concerns with the government.

Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez was unimpressed by these threats. On Monday, he accused Facebook and other internet giants of trying to intimidate the federal government and, by extension, Canadians. “And that doesn’t work,” he said in an interview with the show. Noon Info from Radio-Canada hosted by Alec Castonguay.

He recalled that under his bill, the giants of the web, which occupy a dominant position, must negotiate fair agreements with the news media.

He also indicated that he was open to the idea of ​​amending Bill C-18, as he also indicated during his appearance before the House of Commons heritage committee last week, without however, give more details.

The Bloc Québécois also denounced Facebook’s strategy. “Facebook is in its right to be irritated at not having been invited to a parliamentary committee and the Bloc would be entirely in favor of hearing them. However, they must clearly understand that the threat of blocking access to news sites on their platforms is nothing less than a campaign of fear that discredits their organization,” indicated Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux.

News blocked in Australia

Mr. Champoux recalled that Facebook briefly blocked news sharing in Australia in a similar context last year.

“The Australian experience has shown that such a tone does not work and we will not accept that Facebook repeats its little game here. If C-18 were to be adopted, it is estimated that close to $300 million could be paid to news organizations in Quebec and Canada! A better sharing of revenues between platforms and media is urgent and necessary,” added the Bloc Québécois spokesperson for heritage.

For its part, the New Democratic Party (NDP) affirms that the federal government must continue to stand up to the giants of the web, especially since they are often responsible for the dissemination of false information.

“The responsibility of elected officials is to defend democracy and the dissemination of news and verified information, not the exorbitant profits of a multinational. We must also stand up to those corporations that are hurting media workers in the midst of a rising cost of living crisis – living in anxiety about losing their jobs to unfair competition from the web giants, it’s completely unfair,” argued NDP Deputy Leader Alexandre Boulerice.

“Hollow Threats”

Jean-Hugues Roy, journalist and professor at the School of Media at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), describes Facebook’s position as “hollow threats” and notes that the social network needs information to attract and keep users’ attention.

In a recent analysis of content posted on Facebook by 275 Quebec media, Roy noted a decrease in the amount of user interaction with content over the past two years. “It’s a bit like Facebook reducing the visibility of Quebec media content on its platform,” he says.

The issue of sharing news online is important, because it is online and on social media that Canadians say they get their news first. “It’s major,” says Mr. Roy.