Canada demands Meta lift ban on news access in the country
People need access to information about wildfires.
The Canadian government on Friday demanded that Meta Corporation lift its "reckless" ban on Canadian media publishing news on the Instagram and Facebook platforms. Because now more than ever, people need the ability to share information about wildfires in the west of the country: in British Columbia and Northwest Territories.
Earlier in August, Meta began blocking access to news on Facebook and Instagram for Canadian users. This is in response to the recently adopted online news act, which obliges Meta and Google to pay Canadian news outlets for content published on the corporations' platforms.
Some people who have been evacuated from areas threatened by wildfires, such as the capital of the Northwest Territories of Yellowknife, have complained to Canadian media that the ban on posting news on Facebook and Instagram is preventing them from sharing important information about the raging fires. We recently reported that some police officers have decided to post news on their personal pages under the circumstances, but apparently this level of reporting may not be enough in the current situation.
"Meta's reckless choice to block news ... is hurting access to vital information on Facebook and Instagram. We are calling on them to reinstate news sharing today for the safety of Canadians facing this emergency. We need more news right now, not less," Heritage Minister Pascale St. Onge wrote on social media.
Transportation Minister Pablo Rodriguez agrees with his colleague, noting that Meta is denying people access to critical information. Chris Bittle, a Liberal Party legislator, said that Meta's action to block news is "reckless and irresponsible."
Ollie Williams, manager of Cabin Radio's digital radio station in Yellowknife, shares that people are forced to post screenshots of important fire information on Facebook because they can't share links to news sources.
In response, a Meta spokesperson said the company has added a "safety check" feature to Facebook that allows users to report that they are safe after natural disasters or crisis situations. Canadians can also use Facebook and Instagram to access content published by government agencies, emergency services and non-governmental organizations.
According to Meta representatives, Internet users do not come to its platform for news, and the fact that the Canadian government is trying to force the company to pay for content distributed on its platforms is unacceptable and damaging to its business.
