The federal government, the government of Quebec as well as Montreal, Quebec, Longueuil, the SAQ and Quebec media are suspending the purchase of ads on Facebook and Instagram in response to threats by Meta to block Canadian journalistic content. A gesture which has above all “a symbolic value”, judges an expert.
• Read also: Blocking of news: Quebecor and Cogeco cease their advertising placements on Meta
“We are going to stand up against the web giants, against their bullying, because we know that democracy is at stake,” Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday.
Accompanied by elected officials from the Bloc Québécois and the NDP, the Minister of Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, maintained that these platforms “benefit from the status quo”, a status quo “which cannot last any longer”.
Over the past five years, Ottawa has spent more than $50 million on advertising on Facebook and Instagram, averaging just over $11 million per year. The money would eventually be reinvested in the media in another way, assured the minister.
The latter has not closed the door to do the same with Google, the other company targeted by the Online News Act, but recognizes that the company has motives that seem more “legitimate” than those of Meta.
“Google, as we speak, is continuing discussions with the Government of Canada,” said Minister Rodriguez. “Meta, on the other hand,” has set in motion a “very aggressive campaign” to make its point and refuses to continue negotiations.
A common front in Quebec
Ottawa’s initiative caused a wave in Quebec society that did not have a similar echo in English Canada.
After declaring that he was “not at the stage of boycotting” at the start of the afternoon, Prime Minister François Legault followed suit in Ottawa “in solidarity with the media”. “No company is above the law,” said Mr. Legault on Twitter. Quebec had paid $2 million to Meta in 2021-2022.
In the hour that followed, the Mayor of Quebec City Bruno Marchand, the Mayor of Montreal Valérie Plante and the Mayor of Longueuil Catherine Fournier joined the party.
“Meta’s refusal to share journalistic information is very concerning. Access to verified and quality information is essential, ”said Valérie Plante on social media.
Around 5 p.m., the SAQ became the first Quebec government company to say that it would cease all advertising on Meta platforms. Loto-Québec says it wants to “review” its advertising placements at Meta, which are already “marginal” compared to placements in Quebec media.
Ville de Longueuil made the same decision in the afternoon. Mayor Catherine Fournier said it was a choice made “in solidarity with our news media, which are one of the pillars of a democratic society like ours.”
The government of Doug Ford in Ontario has confirmed its intention to continue buying advertising space from Meta.
Media at the front
It was two major players in the Quebec media sector, Quebecor and Cogeco, who got the ball rolling in the morning with the suspension of the purchase of advertisements on Meta platforms. The Press joined their ranks a little later. No media in English Canada has done the same.
Bloc Québécois Martin Champoux encouraged Ottawa to “go a step further” by encouraging Canadian businesses by also suspending the purchase of advertisements on Facebook and Instagram.
Quebec wants its state corporations to cut the purchase of advertisements from Meta, but cannot force them to do so.
A gesture above all “symbolic”
According to UQAM digital media expert Jean-Hugues Roy, this outcry “will not affect Facebook’s sales in Canada, but it has symbolic value”.
“It’s going to take others, companies, big private or government advertisers like California, for it to really have an impact,” he said.
An example: year after year, the City of Quebec pays about $40,000 in advertising to Meta. Bruno Marchand said he was aware that this sum “is not huge”, but he said he wanted to make this gesture, supported by the opposition at the town hall.
Mr. Roy judges that this is a “good short-term strategy”, but that in the long term it “would deprive the people we only reach there of important information”.
• With the collaboration of Patrick Bellerose, Taïeb Moalla, Audrey Sanikopoulos, Anne-Caroline Desplanques