Local news, Quebec publishers first targets of Facebook's block on Canadian news
CTV
Meta has started blocking news for some Canadians on its Facebook and Instagram platforms in response to a Liberal government bill that could soon become law.
Some French-language media organizations and smaller local media outlets say they are being targeted by Meta after the digital giant restricted access to their content on Facebook as part of its fight against the Liberal government's online-news bill.
Chris Dell, news editor of ChrisD.ca, a Winnipeg-based digital news outfit, said some readers informed him Monday that they are no longer able to access content the outlet had posted on Facebook.
"It appears Meta is blocking some of our content, but not all of it," Dell said in a statement on Tuesday.
He said it's unfortunate that these measures are being taken in response to the proposed online news legislation, which would require tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing news content online.
"As a small local news outlet, the majority of our traffic comes from Facebook and Google. My hope is that an amicable agreement can be reached between Silicon Valley and Ottawa that doesn't leave publishers caught in the middle," Dell said.
Sebastien Menard, editor-in-chief of Le Journal de Quebec, said its news is also being blocked from readers who view its stories on Facebook. That also applies to news shared by fellow Quebecor-owned properties Le Journal de Montreal and TVA Nouvelles.
"We launched ourselves a campaign inviting our readers to come directly to our website instead of waiting for news to come to them through Facebook," Menard said to The Canadian Press on Tuesday.
