A Year of Meta News Blockade | Media and Readership Adapt

A year after Meta blocked news on Facebook and Instagram in Canada, many Quebec Internet users have revised their habits to stay informed. Far from the disaster that was predicted, the change has on the contrary allowed many to reconnect with the news media and, paradoxically, to question their use of social networks.

“Before Meta was blocked, I really only got my news from Facebook,” says Charlotte Poitras, a 28-year-old author. “Without even realizing it, I always had the most controversial articles [dans mon fil d’actualités]. » After the American giant’s decision last August to ban the sharing of news in the country, the Montrealer then decided to download the applications of certain media. “I realized that it’s not at all what I saw on Facebook,” she says.

According to her, Facebook’s algorithm pushed some news more than others, favoring echo chambers, while in the media, the information transmitted is “more true”, and allows her “to discover more things”.

Justine Sara, a lawyer from Quebec City, used to get her news as much from Facebook as directly from media apps. Because of the blockage, the 27-year-old woman turned on notifications for her apps. “I would say I try to get as much information, but I have to make more of an effort,” meaning opening apps to access news that doesn’t get notifications.

“The thing I miss a little bit is that on Facebook, I liked to see people’s comments” in order to know how the news was received and to understand the different perspectives, says Justine Sara.

Anne-Marie Poulin, a 34-year-old researcher from Quebec City, realized while scrolling through her Facebook news feed, following Meta’s response to the Canadian law, that the content was “really no longer interesting.” After participating in the boycott of Meta on September 15, launched by the Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec, M^me Poulin came to the conclusion that she felt better off without Facebook, returning to it only occasionally. However, to satisfy her urge to “scroll,” she began visiting the sites of various media outlets.

“I thought it was more anxiety-provoking for me to go and get information directly from the sources because there was a lot of information about the war, but after that, I realized that having less time all the time [d’apports] “Facebook and people are better for me,” she explains.

Anne-Marie Poulin says that even if Meta reversed its decision, “it would not be an argument to go back because in any case, [elle a] exchange [ses] habits”.

“It’s a shame, but I like that it’s blocked,” admits Charlotte Poitras, who fears losing her new habits if Meta changes its mind and who now prefers to get information directly from a source without an algorithm.

News should be able to come back to Meta, according to Justine Sara, since it is the principle of a social network to be able to share “things that are important to us”, which includes news.

The media have adapted well

Some Quebec media outlets that feared that blocking news would harm them have instead observed an increase in their traffic.

Meta’s news block was “a blessing in disguise” and a “short-lived” turbulence, according to Brian Myles, director of the Duty. ” [Son effet] “has not hurt us to the point that we are in financial distress or that our traffic is in deep decline,” he assures. On the contrary, The duty noted a 13% increase in digital subscribers and a “phenomenal increase in traffic” through Google searches.

A similar observation was made by the Coops de l’information: “We managed to get back on track” after a loss of readership, says Geneviève Rossier, general manager, thanks in particular to an increase in subscriptions to newsletters and traffic on websites and applications. “We developed a system that is much less dependent on these platforms [de réseaux sociaux] than it was two years ago,” explains M.^me Rossier.

HAS The Pressthe news blackout did not have a direct impact on readership, with readership figures remaining stable, according to Vice President of Communications and Philanthropy Florence Turpault-Desroches.

This is particularly due to the fact that The Press has long relied on the presence of readers directly on its platforms in order to “avoid being dependent on a third party”.

The Center for Media Studies published a report last June¹ which indicates that “online news sites or applications are the main source of news for 30% of Canadians, an increase of 3 [points de pourcentage] ” between 2023 and 2024. This has “never been so high in Canada since we started measuring” habits, says Sébastien Charlton, operations coordinator and researcher at the Center for Media Studies.

There is a nuance, however: it is currently difficult to attribute this slight increase entirely to the impossibility of sharing news on Meta since it is part of what seems to be an international trend. However, it remains “exacerbated” in Canada and “it is certainly more difficult to see this as a coincidence,” according to Mr. Charlton. “Next year is when we will see if the trend continues,” he specifies.

Since the 1^er August 2023, Meta, owner of the Facebook and Instagram platforms, blocks media content in Canada to avoid the Online News Act. This law, in force since last December, requires digital platforms to negotiate royalties with media for the use of their content. Google has agreed to redistribute $100 million per year to Canadian media.

Radio-Canada declined our interview request and Quebecor did not respond.

1. See the report from the Center for Media Studies

Concerns for democracy

While Meta’s news blocking has not had the expected devastating effect on the media, fears persist about its consequences for democracy.

“The real issue with blocking Meta is really on the societal level,” explains the vice-president of communications and philanthropy of The PressFlorence Turpault-Desroches. “One year later, we are still blocking access to quality news […] and this seems to us to be damaging for democracy. This is what is worrying, much more than the impact on the readership of each of the media.”

“Notwithstanding the issue of royalties, the fact that news is blocked on Meta, I find that very worrying for the future, especially in a context of polarization,” emphasizes Éric-Pierre Champagne, president of the Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec (FPJQ) and journalist at The Press.

Alain Saulnier, author and fellow at the Centre for International Studies and Research at the University of Montreal, agrees. [La démocratie] is in danger how? Because disinformation is increasingly present on social networks.

Misinformation abounds since the blockade

“Disinformation and misinformation are taking up the space that has been vacated by the media,” says Alain Saulnier.

Eric-Pierre Champagne cites the example of fake news where the faces of celebrities and brand images of different media, including The Pressare used to scam clickers. However, Meta says this is consistent with its advertising practices, he said.

“Meta is acting like a thug on this side because he claims he is not reporting, but […] fake articles that use the logos of recognized companies, there is no problem with that, because obviously, it is paid for,” he denounces.

If a lie is repeated constantly, without any counterweight to this disinformation, it is dangerous for it to become a truth for the public, underlines the president of the FPJQ.

For Pierre Trudel, a professor at the Faculty of Law at the Université de Montréal who specializes in media and information technology law, this is a public policy issue. “Is it acceptable for social networks, which have now become the public squares of our time, to censor the media like this, while allowing all kinds of content to pass through, many of which are false, misleading or downright fraudulent?”

“Facebook must act responsibly and unblock news on its platform,” according to a statement from the office of Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, obtained by email. “The lack of reliable information replaced by misinformation, particularly during wildfire season, was dangerous last year and could put more Canadians at risk this year.”

Meta did not respond to our interview request.

“We are not giving up”

“Our message to Meta is very simple,” says Paul Deegan, CEO of Canadian News Media, which represents about 550 media outlets across the country, including The Press and the Globe and Mail. “Your product is more valuable if it is accompanied by our content. It is more valuable for users and for advertisers. So we would be very happy to discuss with you the possibility of returning to the negotiating table.”

“We have already said on several occasions that our door is open if Facebook wishes to sit at the negotiating table,” also states the office of Minister St-Onge in a statement obtained by email.

According to Professor Pierre Trudel, even if the current law already allows us to “go a long way”, it could be strengthened by prohibiting the censorship of content that complies with the laws and by requiring platforms “to pay royalties to one or more media support funds” to “ensure the production of validated news”.

As for Éric-Pierre Champagne, he invites Meta to be a good corporate citizen and to stop “talking out of both sides of its mouth.” He assures that the FPJQ “is not giving up” and intends to continue to denounce this situation, “as much on the side of royalties as on the side of Meta’s practices and the blocking of news.”