The Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, would like Meta to be subject to the Online News Act, because users find loopholes to share information on its platforms — without the “web giant” paying compensation .
Meta began blocking news on its Facebook and Instagram platforms when Parliament passed the law last summer. This law requires “web giants” to pay for information content shared on their platforms and which helps them generate revenue.
But Meta maintains that by blocking news on its platforms, it is evading regulation by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Despite Meta’s blockade, news remains accessible on its Instagram platform for some Canadian users when they view news media publications using an Internet browser on their phone or computer.
Users have also found other tips for sharing news on Facebook and Instagram, by sending news links directly, sharing screenshots of articles, and shortening news links so they can appear in their micronarratives (the “ stories “), which disappear after 24 hours.
When asked on Tuesday whether the CRTC should look into this issue, Minister St-Onge replied: “Absolutely! “.
“I look forward to seeing what the CRTC does when the law is fully implemented on December 19,” she said.
Fair deals
The law aims to help Canadian news media reach fair commercial deals with “web giants” in order to get paid for this shared content. For now, Google and Meta are the only two companies that meet the law’s criteria to be subject to it.
While Meta refused to negotiate with the government, Google reached its own agreement with Canadian Heritage, under which the company will pay $100 million per year to the media. In exchange, news would still appear on its popular search engine.
The draft regulations released in September initially estimated that Google would pay $172 million per year, while Facebook would have paid $62 million.
Meta reiterated his position on Tuesday. “Unlike search engines, we do not proactively pull news from the Internet and place it in our users’ feeds,” wrote Lisa Laventure, a company spokesperson. “And we have long made clear that the only way to reasonably comply with the Online News Act is to end the availability of news to the citizens of Canada. »
Meta also said it fixed a bug that allowed some news content to be viewed and shared on Instagram. The company said, however, that it does not believe the law applies to private messaging services, so it says users can still send informational links in “direct messages.”
Has the situation changed?
Dwayne Winseck, professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University, believes that in these circumstances the CRTC could check whether the Online News Act would apply to Meta.
“I think the law applies. I think they tried to be half too smart, and it’s going to fall back on them,” Professor Winseck said on Tuesday. But he also does not believe that discussing with Meta, “an irritable child”, is at the top of the government’s list of priorities in this matter.
A CRTC spokesperson said he could not answer questions until after the law comes into force on December 19.
The CRTC will then establish a regulatory framework for fair negotiations between news media and large online platforms that distribute their news content, the regulator specifies on its website. The CRTC is expected to oversee the mandatory negotiation process once it is in place and also wants to launch a public consultation.