Facebook and Instagram threaten to cut off news access in Canada
The reason for the conflict between lawmakers and the company Meta is a bill that would force it to pay publishers for content.
Over the weekend, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, released a statement threatening to block links to news sites in Canada if the "Online News Act" passes. Under this Act, Internet companies would be required to pay publishers for their content.
In a statement, a Meta spokesman said the bill as it is currently written would put the company in a dysfunctional situation.
"A legislative framework that compels us to pay for links or content that we do not post, and which are not the reason the vast majority of people use our platforms, is neither sustainable nor workable," the statement said.
Canada’s Office of the Parliamentary estimates that if the law passes, Google and Facebook would pay news publishers about CAN$ 329.2 million a year. Facebook made good on its threat to block news links in Australia in 2021.
Meta believes that the bill "distorts the relationship between platforms and news publishers."
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