WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd August, 2023) The social media platform Facebook (owned by Meta, banned in Russia as an extremist organization) has begun ending news availability in Canada in order to comply with the country's new online media law, the company said on Tuesday.
"In order to comply with the Online News Act, we have begun the process of ending news availability in Canada. These changes start today, and will be implemented for all people accessing Facebook and Instagram in Canada over the course of the next few weeks," Facebook said in a policy update.
News content posted by Canadian publishers and broadcasters will no longer be viewable by people in Canada, the statement said. Content from international news outlets will also no longer be viewable in Canada, the statement said.
Canada's laws are based on an "incorrect premise" that Meta benefits unfairly from news content shared on its platforms, the statement said, adding that the reverse is true.
The Canadian government implemented the measure with the intent of compensating Canadian news organizations for using their content on social media, most notably on Meta and on Google platforms.
