Meta is preparing to block news for some Canadians on Facebook and Instagram in a temporary test that is expected to last the majority of the month.

The Silicon Valley tech giant is following in the steps of Google, which blocked news links for about five weeks earlier this year for some of its Canadian users in response to a controversial Liberal government bill.

Bill C-18, which is currently being studied in the Senate, will require tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online.

Meta said itB次元官网网址檚 prepared to block news permanently on Facebook and Instagram if the bill passes, which the government said could happen this month.

Rachel Curran, head of public policy for Meta Canada, said this first temporary move will affect one to five per cent of its 24 million Canadian users, with the number of those impacted fluctuating throughout the test.

Randomly selected Canadian users will not be able to see or share news content in Canada either on Instagram or Facebook.

She said that could include news links to articles, reels B次元官网网址� which are short-form videos B次元官网网址� or stories, which are photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours.

However, the experience wonB次元官网网址檛 be the same for every user who is subject to the test.

B次元官网网址淚t wonB次元官网网址檛 be a uniform experience, necessarily. Some news links wonB次元官网网址檛 be shareable on Facebook, but it might not be that experience on Instagram. It will be a different experience on different surfaces,B次元官网网址� Curran said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said in a statement Thursday evening that the fact that Facebook is still refusing to work with Canadians shows how deeply irresponsible the company is.

B次元官网网址淲hen a big tech company, whatever the size is, the amount of money and the powerful lawyers they have, they come here and they tell us, B次元官网网址業f you donB次元官网网址檛 do this or that, then IB次元官网网址檓 pulling the plug,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 a threat and that is unacceptable,B次元官网网址� he said in the statement.

B次元官网网址淚 never did anything because I was afraid of a threat, and I will never do it.B次元官网网址�

Rodriguez added in a tweet that B次元官网网址淐anadians will not be intimidated by these tactics.B次元官网网址�

Meta said it is picking random news publishers that will be notified that some people in Canada will not be able to see or share their news content throughout the test. They will still be able to access their accounts, pages, businesses suites and advertising.

International news companies such as the New York Times or BBC could also have their content blocked in Canada during the test, if they are randomly selected. However, people outside of Canada will not be affected.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 only going to impact your experience B次元官网网址� if youB次元官网网址檙e in Canada,B次元官网网址� Curran said.

Meta is defining news as itB次元官网网址檚 described in the Liberal governmentB次元官网网址檚 online news act.

B次元官网网址淭he legislation states that news outlets are in scope if they primarily report on, investigate or explain current issues or events of public interests,B次元官网网址� said Curran.

Content that doesnB次元官网网址檛 fall under that definition will not be blocked from Canadians. When Facebook blocked news in Australia in 2021 because of a similar bill, there was widespread concern that trusted sources would be unavailable, while pages that published misinformation flourished.

Curran said affected Canadians will still be able to use their platforms to access information from a variety of sources including government pages, organizations and universities.

B次元官网网址淲e think all of that is good information. TheyB次元官网网址檙e also seeing and sharing things that interest them and entertain them. We would not classify that as misinformation. ThatB次元官网网址檚 great information and that will continue to be shared and to be viewable,B次元官网网址� Curran said, adding that the company will continue to address misinformation on its site through a global fact-checking program.

MetaB次元官网网址檚 test is designed to ensure that non-news agencies donB次元官网网址檛 get caught in the dragnet should they block news permanently.

The company said it doesnB次元官网网址檛 want to accidentally block emergency services, community organizations, politicians or government pages, which happened in Australia.

Legacy media and broadcasters have praised the federal LiberalsB次元官网网址� online news bill because it would bring in more money for shrinking newsrooms. Companies such as Meta and Google have been blamed for disrupting and dominating the advertising industry, eclipsing smaller, traditional players.

Curran said removing journalism from MetaB次元官网网址檚 platforms is a business decision, and the company makes B次元官网网址渘egligible amountsB次元官网网址� of revenue from news content.

The company said less than three per cent of what people see in their Facebook feeds are posts with links to news articles, and many of its users believe that is already B次元官网网址渢oo muchB次元官网网址� news.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e facing a lot of competitive pressures and competition for user time and attention. WeB次元官网网址檙e also facing some pretty serious economic headwinds, and a macro economic climate thatB次元官网网址檚 a bit uncertain,B次元官网网址� Curran said.

B次元官网网址淥f course news have value from a social perspective. ItB次元官网网址檚 valuable to our democracy. It just doesnB次元官网网址檛 have much commercial or economic value to our company.B次元官网网址�

Mickey Djuric, The Canadian Press

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