Tech Companies Restricting Canadian News!
If you are confused about why Meta and Google restricted your ability to post and see Canadian news, I wanted to share brief summary to hopefully answer any questions you might have.
1. Who are the players?
The Government of Canada and Canadian Heritage vs Google and Meta.
2. What happened?
On June 15th, 2023, the Government of Canada passed the Online News Act (also known as Bill C-18). Google retaliated by not featuring Canadian news on Google and Meta responded by not allowing people to post links to Canadian News outlets (like the CBC or the Toronto Start) on Facebook and Instagram. [1,2,3]
3. Wait, back up, what is the Online News Act?
So, according to the government, the “The legislation requires that digital platforms that make news available and have a strategic market dominance bargain fairly, and in good faith, with Canadian news businesses for the use of their news content on their services.” [5] Or in other words, the law required tech companies to meet with news outlets and come to agreements about compensating news outlets for the content that they create and is shared on their tech platforms.
4. Wait, wut?
Okay, let me start again. The basic argument is that news organizations are creating content which those tech organizations are benefiting from. Ad agencies would rather pay for advertising on social media companies, which share news content, rather than pay the news agencies directly. Therefore, the intent of the bill is that media companies should get compensated for their work in generating content.
5. Wait, so what is going on with Canadian Media landscape?
They are in a bad place at the moment. “More than 470 media outlets in Canada have closed since 2008, and at least one-third of Canadian journalism jobs have disappeared over that same time period.” [2] This is a struggling industry, so this law could be viewed as a way to help them by diverting more funds to their operations. Or in others words, to help them get fairly compensated for the work they create.
6. Did the bill work?
Ha. No. Or at least, not yet. This is a moving issue and we are in a very early stage. But I think it is fair to say that no-one is currently winning and everyone is losing by varying degree.
7. Who chooses which media companies can’t be posted or featured?
The government provided basic criteria about which organizations are eligible to come together to make agreements with the tech companies [5], but Meta and Google actively chose which organizations they will prohibit from being featured on their platforms. According to Meta, “We are identifying news outlets based on legislative definitions and guidance from the Online News Act.” [7] So, my understanding is that regardless of whether those organizations would have asked for compensation, Meta is determining on their own, based on government definitions of eligibility, which news outlets they will no longer allow.
8. Which media companies can’t post?
I don’t know. Apparently, The Beaverton, a satirical, not actually news, site was chosen by Meta to not be featured. And The Beaverton have clarified that they are not eligible for the Online News Act. [4] I haven’t found a list of the organizations which are banned, but the logic for some of these choices is unclear.
9. Why do people keep bringing up Australia?[9]
So, something similar happened in 2021 in Australia, where the government also tried to get tech companies to come to compensatory agreements between news and tech organizations. The tech organization also stopped featuring Australian news. After about a week, a deal was struck between the stakeholders, and the news ban was lifted. “According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, more than $190 million has been paid already to Australian media companies since the law was enacted last year. The big winners have been legacy media and larger media outlets.” [2]
10. What is your opinion on the matter?
Well, this is a complex issue. I’m not sure whether tech companies giving money to a struggling industry is the solution. Local news have been dying (2 outlets have died out in my region within the last month), and I think that the problem wasn’t just money, but the subscription method.
I also worry that the major news organization in Canada are becoming more dependent on tech companies, especially through this funding scheme. Would they be able to criticize tech effectively if they rely on tech to get funding, rather than from the reader or community.[4]
There are also questions about democratic values. I don’t like the idea that tech companies can decide to stop sharing news and it can nearly break our media environment. It makes people less informed and less engaged, and news organizations are already struggling. This feels like a move designed to destroy an industry. Outcome-wise, I am sympathetic to the government’s intention, but I’m not sure that this will bring strengthen Canadian news.
11. But didn’t Poilievre say, “Who would ever have imagined that in Canada the federal government would pass laws banning people from effectively seeing the news?”[1]
He’s incorrect. The federal government isn’t banning the news.
12. He said “It’s like Nineteen Eighty-Four.”[1]
I am not sure he read the book, because this is nothing like Orwell’s 1984. Seriously, stop invoking the book. Orwell literally writes, “By using stale metaphors, similes and idioms, you save much mental effort, at the cost of leaving your meaning vague, not only for your reader but for yourself.” And, “… there is a huge dump of worn-out metaphors which have lost all evocative power and are merely used because they save people the trouble of inventing phrases for themselves.”[10]
I’m sure Orwell would have hated the way Poilievre invokes his book … oh yeah, this was about Bill C-18. Yeah, everything that happened is unfortunate, and I hope an agreement can happen sooner rather than later. There is much news I want to post.
Bibliography
1. “Meta permanently ending news availability on its platforms in Canada,” by Darren Major. CBC.
2. “Canadians will no longer have access to news content on Facebook and Instagram, Meta says,” by Jessica Mundie. CBC.
3. “Your questions about Meta and other social media giants blocking news in Canada, explained,” by CBC Explains.
4. “No joke: Satirical websites get caught up in Meta’s quest to block news in Canada,” by Mickey Djuric. The Canadian Press.
5. “The Online News Act: Next Steps,” by Canadian Heritage.
6. “Sen. Paula Simons ‘unhopeful’ about plan to make Google and Facebook pay for news,” by Canadaland.
7. “Changes to News Availability on Our Platforms in Canada,” by Meta.
8. “News Erased by Google and Facebook? They Vow to Do It,” by Jeanette Ageson. The Tyee.
9. “News media bargaining code,” by The Australian Government.
10. “Politics and the English Language,” by George Orwell.
I believe that everything I said is correct, but be sure to keep reading and staying informed, as things may quickly change and become out of date. Part of this was my own opinion, but I have tried to cite where I got my information. Please support your local news. Check out their websites, follow their journalists, and donate, if it is an option.
