Starting this Tuesday, August 1, Canadians who use Facebook or Instagram will no longer be able to obtain information on these platforms.

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Meta began blocking Canadians’ access to news on Facebook and Instagram on Tuesday in response to a new law requiring digital giants pay publishers for said content.

Google, another critic of the online information law, said that considers similar resolutionamid an ongoing global debate as more governments try to convince tech companies to pay for news content.

“Links to news and content published by publishers and news broadcasters in Canada They will no longer be able to be seen by people in Canada“Meta said in a statement.

THE news published on foreign sites are also not visible by Canadian users of Facebook and Instagram, and will no longer be able to share articles on both platforms.

Meta noted that the changes introduced Tuesday will be fully implemented “over the coming weeks.”

An AFP journalist could still follow the news on Facebook on Tuesday, but some users reported having already received messages indicating that this content was blocked.

The law on online information is based on similar legislation introduced in Australia and aims to support an information sector Canadian who is in crisis, seeing over the last decade a leak of advertising dollars and hundreds of publications closed.

It requires digital giants to enter into fair commercial agreements with Canadian media outlets for news and information shared on their platforms, or risk being subject to binding arbitration.

An October 2022 report from Canada’s parliamentary budget watchdog estimates the legislation could lead to Canadian newspapers receiving approximately $250 million per year from digital platforms.

Meta said the project the law has flaws and is based on the “false premise that Meta unfairly benefits from news content shared on our platforms, when the opposite is true.”

Meta does not consider this relevant. (Photo: Pexels)

Instead, he said, media outlets share content on Facebook and Instagram to attract readers, which helps their own bottom line.

“People who use our platforms do not come to us for news“he added.

The Minister of Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, described this news blocking measure as “irresponsible“, pointing out that 80% of all online advertising revenue in Canada goes to Meta and Google.

“A free and independent press is fundamental to our democracy,” he said, adding that other countries are considering legislation similar to Canada’s “to address the same challenges.”