Meta was right?
Facebook's news ban hasn't affected the platform's popularity in Canada
Independent companies that track the popularity of apps and sites on the Internet shared data Tuesday that Facebook's popularity in Canada has remained flat. That's despite Meta's decision to ban the news publication on its platform in Canada earlier this month, for which the corporation was sharply criticized by the country's government.
The number of daily active Facebook users in Canada and the time spent in the app and on the site has remained virtually unchanged since early August, when Meta began blocking news content in Canada. Similarweb, a company that analyzes traffic on websites and apps, told the Reuters news outlet.
Analytics firm Data.ai also told Reuters that it found no evidence of any meaningful change in Facebook usage by Canadians in August.
Meta declined to comment on Similarweb and Data.ai data.
This data, though rather premature, shows that Meta was right in assuming that Facebook users are not logging onto the platform to track news. However, Meta's relationship with the Canadian government remains strained due to the "Online News Act," which requires corporations such as Meta and Google to pay news outlets for news that is posted on those corporations' platforms.
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