Suspension of advertisements | Canadian mobilization against Meta

(Ottawa) Canada counterattacks the Meta Empire. The federal government, the Quebec government, major cities and the majority of Quebec media are suspending the purchase of ads on Facebook and Instagram in order to retaliate against the web giant’s decision to end the sharing of Canadian news.

It was the federal government, through the mouth of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, who sounded the charge by announcing, Wednesday noon, a freeze on government advertising purchases on social networks.

“Facebook decided to be unreasonable, irresponsible and start blocking news,” he said, slamming its parent company Meta (also owner of Instagram) for its “very aggressive” attitude and intransigence.

The Minister was accompanied by Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux and New Democrat Peter Julian, virtually. The Conservative Party, whose leader Pierre Poilievre has signaled plans to repeal the law, was not represented.

After hesitating, the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, finally decided to follow suit.

“In solidarity with the media, the decision has been made to cease all government advertising on Facebook while Meta resumes discussions on the application of Bill C-18. No company is above the law,” he wrote on Twitter.

The cities of Quebec, Montreal and Longueuil also boarded. “Meta’s refusal to share journalistic information is very concerning,” Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante tweeted.

“It’s important to join the movement. […] We need the media to have the necessary funding to survive and prosper, ”said the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, in a scrum.

Media also turn off the tap

On the media side, the companies Quebecor and Cogeco gave impetus to the boycott movement, announcing Wednesday morning the suspension of their advertising investments on Meta’s social networks.

AT The Presswhere “marketing investments on social networks had been minor for several months already”, we also decided to no longer buy advertising there, explained spokesperson Florence Turpault-Desroches.

At the end of the day, it was CBC/Radio-Canada’s turn to freeze its advertising purchases. “We join our voices with those of other Canadian media to demand that Canadians’ access to news […] be protected,” the Crown corporation said in a statement.

“Canada will not be alone,” says Trudeau

Bill C-18 aims to force web giants to enter into compensation agreements with the media whose content they publish.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has highlighted Canada’s pioneering role. “I have heard many colleagues and friends around the world say, ‘Stand strong in Canada, because this is a fight that is important in all our democracies,'” he said during a visit to Saint Hyacinthe.

The Liberal Party, which has bet a lot on Facebook in recent years, will not do like the Liberal government. “We will continue to advertise on Meta’s platforms,” spokesperson Parker Lund wrote in an email.

Meta barely flinches

The Meta company did not seem to take offense at this cascade of sanctions.

“As we have repeatedly said, the Online News Act is an imperfect law that ignores the operation of our platforms, the preferences of their users and the value we place on press publishers, ”wrote its spokesperson, Lisa Laventure.

Hence the question to 10 million (the sum that Ottawa spends annually at Meta for its advertisements): is there a chance that the sling will make the giant back down? “It will depend on the magnitude it takes,” argued Colette Brin, director of the Center for Media Studies at Laval University, in an interview.

“Regarding the financial effect of this gesture, taken individually, it is sure that it is not much”, she chained. A study by the Canadian Media Concentration Research Project estimated that Facebook’s annual advertising revenue (excluding Instagram) in Canada was $2.9 billion in 2020.

Google runs away

Unlike Meta, Google (Alphabet) is spared for the time being.

It’s that Minister Rodriguez is convinced that a solution is within reach, that disputes can be ironed out through the regulatory process, and that unlike Meta, Google has a responsible approach and “specific demands”.

Google’s president of international affairs, Kent Walker, said last Thursday that Ottawa had not “provided reason to believe” that the process would bear fruit. To this vision, Pablo Rodriguez opposed his own, more optimistic. “It can be done and it will be done,” he said on Wednesday.

With the collaboration of Gabriel Béland, The Press