The Canadian government has reportedly demanded Meta remove its ban on domestic news in the country for residents to share news about wildfires that are occurring in the western part of the country.
Meta started blocking news in Canada on both Facebook and Instagram earlier this month in response to the Online News Act, a new law in the country that requires tech companies to compensate news publishers for using their content. Google has also removed its links to Canadian news sites.
With the ban, Canadians are no longer able to post links to news outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, or The Guardian on Facebook or Instagram.
Facebook says paying for content doesn’t make sense for the company and that news content is not a significant source of income given that it's just 3% of what users see in their feeds.
“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 earlier this month. "The legislation is based on the incorrect premise that Meta benefits unfairly from news content shared on our platforms when the reverse is true.”
There are currently more than 200 fires burning across the Northwest Territories of Canada and the city of Yellowknife has been evacuated. Many residents have said that the news ban has made it difficult for them to get accurate information about the fires on social media. Residents are instead getting information via word-of-mouth and the radio, Reuters reports.
"Meta's reckless choice to block news ... is hurting access to vital information on Facebook and Instagram," Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge tweeted. "We are calling on them to reinstate news sharing today for the safety of Canadians facing this emergency. We need more news right now, not less.”
While Meta currently has not lifted the band, it has activated its “Safety Check” feature on the social network, which allows users to mark that they are safe in the wake of natural disasters.
