An advertising campaign by Meta to denounce the law on online news, better known as Bill C-18, aimed at forcing “web giants” to compensate the media for sharing their reports and articles online outrages Bloc MP Martin Champoux.
“Meta can’t get enough of opposing C-18, she is now trying to extend her smear advertising campaign on the airwaves of these same media that she crushes and despises by refusing to negotiate agreements, “wrote the elected official on Twitter on Thursday.
In his opinion, this is “not nearly runny” and he “salutes the media who stood up and refused to publish / broadcast the Meta ad”.
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram confirms that it relays new advertising messages concerning Bill C-18, but not that it has come up against a refusal to broadcast by the media.
Cogeco indicates that it “actually decided to [s’] refrain from using [son] advertising time to broadcast a message that is positioned against the laws in force in Canada”. The marketing director of the Quebec media, Diane Patenaude, indicated that the representatives of Meta will be welcomed on the airwaves of Cogeco “if they wish to discuss their points of view”.
In response to the new legislation, Meta followed through on its threat to block Canadians’ access to news content on its platforms.
The advertising strategy comes after governments, media and corporations announced they will stop buying advertising space on Instagram and Facebook.
In an audio recording sent to The Canadian Press and billed as an “announcement,” Meta claims that “the Online News Act incorrectly assumes that social media companies are unfairly profiting from news content shared on our platforms, when the reverse is true.”
“The media voluntarily share content on social media to increase their audience and improve their results. The only way we can reasonably comply with this legislation is to terminate access to news,” it can be heard.
Meta reports paying for advertising space on its Facebook platform. The message advising Canadian users of the platform that they will no longer have access to journalistic content on it began to be broadcast on Wednesday.
“We want to remain clear and transparent with Canadians about the upcoming changes to our services,” said a spokesperson for the company.
Bill C-18 passed in late June aims to force Meta and Google to enter into “fair” indemnification agreements with a variety of media outlets for sharing news content. In the absence of agreements, digital companies will be imposed a framework for negotiations next December.
This three-step process is expected to kick in after a period during which “web giants” can voluntarily agree with a range of players, including local media, to be exempted. Arbitration is the last element of the negotiation framework.
With Michel Saba The Canadian Press