Aimthe parent company of Facebook And Instagramannounced its decision to block access to news on both platforms for users of CanadaThis measure follows the approval of Bill C-18 by the Canadian Parliament.

The law requires big tech companies to negotiate commercial deals and pay news organizations for content shared on their apps. A similar decision in Australia and this produced the same business strategy Mark Zuckerberg.

On that occasion, Meta blocked the viewing and sharing of news content on Facebook, which led to an agreement with the Australian government after seven days.

The company says Bill C-18 and similar laws are “fundamentally flawed” and fail to take into account how its platforms operate. According to the company, requiring payment for links or content it does not publish is neither sustainable nor viable, since that is not the primary reason people use Facebook and Instagram.

In addition, they point out that they already offer benefits to the media through free advertising. Rachel Curran, head of public policy for Meta in Canada, assured that over the past 12 months, Facebook sent over 1.9 billion clicks to Canadian media pages, with an estimated value of over $200 million in free marketing.

Currently, the company is already testing the two social networks to “create an effective solution to end the availability of news” and for this reason “a small percentage” of users in the North American country cannot see the news on their profiles.

This will not affect the rest of Facebook and Instagram's features, where it will still be possible to share other content such as images and videos. “Users will still be able to connect with friends and family, grow their businesses and support their local communities,” Meta announced.

He Government of Canada and many media outlets say the company is not doing enough to support journalism. That's why Bill C-18 aims to bring fairness to the digital news marketplace and ensure fair compensation for journalism organizations.

“Real journalism, produced by real journalists, remains a major demand for Canadians and is vital to our democracy. But it comes with real costs,” said Paul Deegan, President and CEO of News Media Canada.

The Canadian President, Justin Trudeauhas also spoken out in support of the law and has been highly critical of the position of big tech companies. At a recent press conference, the president expressed concern about the denial of access to local news and accused Aim And Google to use “intimidation” tactics.

“It's a real problem that these internet giants would rather deny Canadians access to local news than pay their fair share,” Trudeau said.

Bill C-18 will come into force in the next six months and, according to an analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office, it is estimated that the media could receive around $300 million per year thanks to this agreement with digital platforms, in which it is also involved. Google.