The Canadian Senate has passed the Canada’s Online News Act as of Thursday. This act of parliament sets out rules forcing platforms like Meta and Google to negotiate and pay news proprietors for content.
Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, has called the law “fundamentally flawed legislation that ignores the realities of how our platforms work”.
Meta has stated that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada as a result of this bill.
Meta competitor Google has also called the bill “unworkable” in its current form and said it was aiming to work with the government to find a solution.
The Canadian government says the online news bill is necessary “to enhance fairness in the Canadian digital news market”.
Other opponents to the Bill suggest that it is all about control of political propaganda in Canada, and that the government is seeking to shore up their capacity to get re-elected, and that principles such as freedom of speech can go to the way side.