Meta Platforms Begins Blocking News for Canadian Users

OTTAWA—After months of warnings, Meta Platforms said Tuesday that it has started to block access to news links for Facebook and Instagram users in Canada, raising the stakes in a showdown over whether digital companies should finance news outlets.

“Changes will roll out over a few weeks,” Meta spokesman Andy Stone said on his official account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “As we’ve always said, the law is based on a fundamentally flawed premise. And, regrettably, the only way we can reasonably comply is to end news availability in Canada.”

Meta, and Alphabet’s Google, have taken a hard line against Canadian legislation passed by Parliament in June that compels digital platforms to compensate media outlets for links. Internet law experts and former technology-sector executives say this stance reflects the companies’ concern about a contagion effect—that every jurisdiction will try to mimic Canada’s approach and get the Silicon Valley companies to help finance newsgathering.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has approved proposed legislation that is similar in scope to what Canada approved, and state lawmakers in California are debating a bill that would require that the tech sector pay state-based media organizations. New Zealand introduced a proposal last year to persuade digital platforms to reach voluntary deals with local news outlets, and South Africa and Brazil are considering regulations.

Google has said that it would remove links to Canadian news articles on its search function for Canadian users when authorities start enforcing the legislation, which is expected to happen late this year when regulations become final. Canadian officials say they believe they can address Google’s concerns. A Google spokesman said Tuesday its plan remains in place.

Meta’s decision on Canadian links resembles its move in February 2021 to block news on the Facebook platform in Australia in a dispute over payment for content. Meta lifted the ban several days later after the company extracted concessions from the Australian government. Meta’s move generated criticism in the U.S., Europe and the U.K.

There is no sign of compromise in Canada. “We have been transparent and have made it clear to the Canadian government that the legislation misrepresents the value news outlets receive when choosing to use our platforms,” Meta said in a statement. “The legislation is based on the incorrect premise that Meta benefits unfairly from news content shared on our platforms, when the reverse is true.”

Michael Geist, a professor at the University of Ottawa who specializes in internet law, said he doesn’t expect Meta to backtrack. “The world is watching, and with the prospect of other countries introducing laws to address support for media, Meta is keenly aware that reversing its position in Canada would be tantamount to inviting other countries to introduce similar legislation,” he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, named to the post last week as part of cabinet overhaul, said on Tuesday that Meta’s decision was irresponsible because the company, as of this moment, faces no legal obligations because regulations haven’t yet been drafted.

“Facebook is trying to send a message, not only to Canada, but to other countries like New Zealand, the U.K. and the United States,” St-Onge said. “If the government can’t stand up for Canadians against tech giants, who will?”

Meta has recently been moving away from news and toward placing an emphasis on showing its Facebook and Instagram users content recommended to them by systems driven by artificial intelligence. In particular, the company has placed an emphasis on Reels, the company’s short-form video content that competes with TikTok.

Following the July launch of Meta’s microblogging Threads service, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, said in a post that the company wouldn’t be doing anything to encourage politics and news on the new app.

Canada’s law requires digital platforms to reach commercial deals with news publishers, which incorporate print, online and broadcasting outlets, for their content. The goal is to provide media outlets with a financial lifeline to offset the loss of advertising revenue that has migrated to the digital sphere. Should negotiations fail, the legislation calls for the two sides to enter binding arbitration to determine appropriate compensation.

Both Meta and Google have argued that the law would put a price on free links to webpages, contravening copyright legislation and upending the concept of an open internet in which users can search and connect to material without restrictions. Canadian officials have said the final regulations would include a cap on how much digital companies pay news outlets.

“Meta’s unilateral action to ‘unfriend’ Canada is intemperate,” said Paul Deegan, president and chief executive of News Media Canada, a lobby group for news publishers. Meta, he added, “would be well advised to engage to ensure the regulations are fair, balanced and predictable for all.”

—Salvador Rodriguez in San Francisco contributed to this article.

Write to Paul Vieira at [email protected]