(Quebec) The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) stops boycotting Facebook even though not so long ago it denounced the political parties who bought advertising on this Meta platform. François Legault criticized them for not showing solidarity with the Quebec media, whose news is blocked on Facebook.
The CAQ will not spend more than 10% of its advertising budget on Meta, according to its general director, Brigitte Legault.
The CAQ decided last summer to no longer buy ads on Meta in order to denounce its blocking of news in Canada. François Legault’s party then joined the boycott movement in support of the media.
Meta has been blocking news since the 1ster August in retaliation for the adoption of federal Bill C-18. The legislative text aims to force web giants to pay compensation to news media for the publication of their content, by negotiating revenue sharing agreements.
Last fall, during the by-election in Jean-Talon, François Legault accused Québec solidaire and the Liberal Party of continuing to buy ads on Facebook and Instagram during the campaign.
“I find it really deplorable that Québec solidaire, which should perhaps change its name, is not in solidarity with Quebec journalists and media,” he said.
He then pleaded that the boycott is a good way to make Meta bend. “I think we can win this battle. I look at what happened in Australia. They managed to convince Meta to give hundreds of millions to the media. But the important thing is to be united,” argued François Legault.
However, the CAQ decided to drop the boycott. She started buying Facebook advertising again.
Reach voters
Brigitte Legault explains that the party’s position changed in December, following the agreement concluded the previous month between Google and Ottawa on the payment of royalties to Canadian media. “We decided that with Google signing, we can afford to move forward a little,” explains Mme Legault.
Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet. For its part, Meta has not concluded any such agreement to date.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE CAQ, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The general director of the CAQ, Brigitte Legault
According to Brigitte Legault, it is necessary for the party to buy advertisements on Facebook to reach voters who do not consult traditional media.
We still have to reach a certain level of people who are not accessible elsewhere.
Brigitte Legault, general director of the CAQ
Another reality justifies the decision, according to her. “There are a lot of media outlets that have closed. So in certain regions, I have an almost complete blackout if I don’t do media like this,” Facebook, she emphasizes.
Modest expenses
The general director of the CAQ specifies that purchases on Facebook are modest for the moment and will not exceed 10% of the advertising budget.
According to the Meta register, the CAQ spent between $1,500 and $2,000 in December for holiday advertising. Then around $500 in January to promote a measure adopted by the Legault government on the reimbursement of glasses for children. An expenditure of $200 was made during the same month to argue that the CAQ government advocates “less paperwork, more efficient services”.
Brigitte Legault explains that certain CAQ advertisements targeted particular regions, such as Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean and Bas-Saint-Laurent.
Last summer, the Quebec government also joined the boycott of Meta platforms. “In solidarity with the media, the decision was made to cease all advertising by the Quebec government on Facebook until Meta resumes discussions on the application of Bill C-18. »“No company is above the law,” said Prime Minister François Legault on July 5.
At his office, it is specified that the government’s boycott of Meta continues “for the moment”.