Ottawa and the media on Tuesday denounced the “intimidation” exerted by Meta in reaction to Bill C-18 currently in the hands of senators. The company officially began blocking access to news on Facebook and Instagram to a portion of Canadians in recent days.
“It is unacceptable and we will not allow this intimidation to work. We will always be there to defend Canadians’ access to news. It’s fundamental to our democracy,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday, condemning Meta’s attitude.
The company had already announced the color in early June, warning that between 240,000 and 1.2 million users would temporarily lose the ability to view and share media-produced content in Canada. In the last few days, the Silicon Valley giant has finally moved from words to action.
On social networks, several people have indicated that they no longer have access to the Facebook accounts of the Montreal Journalof The Press or other media from here. By way of explanation, they find themselves faced with a message indicating: “This content is not visible in Canada. In response to Canadian government legislation, news content cannot be displayed in Canada. “.
In a series of Twitter messages, the President and CEO of Quebecor, Pierre Karl Péladeau, denounced the actions of Meta, which he accuses of not wanting to “pay [sa] fair share”. “To preserve the quality of our information and our democracy, support the media here by informing you indirectly on their platforms,” he added. A similar message was shared on Quebecor’s media social networks.
Google and Facebook are beginning to withdraw access to news as a means of protest for not paying their fair share. To preserve the quality of our information and our democracy, support local media by informing you indirectly on their platforms.
– Pierre Karl Péladeau (@PKP_Qc) June 13, 2023
C-18 Response
This initiative by Meta is presented as a “testing” period, in order to identify any problems before making this block permanent. By doing so, the American company is responding to Bill C-18 currently in the hands of senators. This aims to force digital giants to enter into fair compensation agreements with press companies for the sharing of their journalistic content.
“By choosing to carry out its threats, Meta has revealed its game: that of a foreign company which does not care about the public’s right to information and which seeks only profit, even if it is at the expense of democracy. Meta is aware that disinformation is more profitable and has made its choice, ”reacted Michaël Nguyen, president of the Professional Federation of Journalists of Quebec (FPJQ), in a press release. He asks the government not to give in to the situation and calls on the Senate to “accelerate the process so that Bill C-18 is implemented as quickly as possible”.
Note that Google had conducted similar tests between February and March, limiting the appearance of news produced by the media in the search results of approximately 3.3% of Canadian Internet users. The results of this test would have demonstrated the low monetary value of SEO for news articles, according to Google. These represent less than 2% of all searches performed, and are not of interest to advertisers.
Quit Facebook and Instagram?
In the opinion of Jean-Hugues Roy, professor of journalism at UQAM, it may be time for the media to seriously reflect on their dependence on social networks. “Even if it brings in some traffic, it doesn’t bring back the advertising that is monopolized by the Googles and Facebooks of this world,” he argues.
He gives the example of major American media, such as the washington post and the New York Timess, who have begun in recent years to break away from these platforms to reach their audience differently and more directly, through newsletters, mobile alerts or podcasts. “Afterwards, do the media here have the means to afford it? I’m not sure,” adds Professor Roy.
During a parliamentary committee in Ottawa last October, several media, including The duty, indeed testified that they could not do without the “strike force” of Google and Meta, which contribute to the discoverability of their content.
Jean-Hugues Roy also believes that the Liberal government should immediately consider alternatives to Bill C-18, fearing that it will not yield the expected results. “Meta is in the process of arranging for there to be no more information on its platforms and therefore the bill, which targets ‘digital news intermediaries’, will no longer concern them. That is problematic “.
With Boris Proulx