Posted on Aug 30, 2023
Meta’s News Block Causes Chaos as Canada Burns
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NEARLY EVERY DAY for the past five years, Vicki Hogarth has used Facebook to keep her community informed. As the news director for CHCO-TV—an independent, nonprofit television station in rural New Brunswick, Canada—she livestreamed town council meetings, posted monthly video interviews with local mayors, and shared at least a dozen posts daily. For many in the community of St. Andrews and the larger Charlotte County, it was the way to stay on top of local news.
One day in early August, that all ground to a halt. Meta made good on a promise to block news content in Canada, in response to a new law that requires the company to pay news businesses for content that ends up on Facebook or Instagram. The CHCO-TV Facebook page, followed by 28,000 people—nearly 2,000 more than the entire county—has been wiped clean. “No posts available,” the newsfeed reads.
One day in early August, that all ground to a halt. Meta made good on a promise to block news content in Canada, in response to a new law that requires the company to pay news businesses for content that ends up on Facebook or Instagram. The CHCO-TV Facebook page, followed by 28,000 people—nearly 2,000 more than the entire county—has been wiped clean. “No posts available,” the newsfeed reads.
Meta’s News Block Causes Chaos as Canada Burns
Posted from wired.com
Canada
Natural Disaster
Facebook
Information
Money
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 5
I scratch my head a bit about this story. Maybe I can't appreciate those that don't know there are alternatives or maybe it's those that look at Facebook as THE place to get news, but I don't lay this at Meta's feet.
There are dozens (hundreds?) of news aggregation sites available on the internet. If you don't have access to one, pick another. If you're specifically looking for one that doesn't appear on one that you use, then go to them directly*. There are MANY options - if you're closed out on one, chose another.
I do understand something being in someone's comfort zone. You're used to doing things a certain way and most people dislike change, however one of the few constants in life is change.
As the the dispute between Meta and Canada - there are two sides of an argument and both sides are going to use whatever arrow they have in their quiver to gain support for their side or opposition to the other side. "How could Meta do this in face of such tragedy!?" could easily be "How could the government do this with such a tragedy looming!?"
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* In the case of CHCO-TV - https://chco.tv/news.html
There are dozens (hundreds?) of news aggregation sites available on the internet. If you don't have access to one, pick another. If you're specifically looking for one that doesn't appear on one that you use, then go to them directly*. There are MANY options - if you're closed out on one, chose another.
I do understand something being in someone's comfort zone. You're used to doing things a certain way and most people dislike change, however one of the few constants in life is change.
As the the dispute between Meta and Canada - there are two sides of an argument and both sides are going to use whatever arrow they have in their quiver to gain support for their side or opposition to the other side. "How could Meta do this in face of such tragedy!?" could easily be "How could the government do this with such a tragedy looming!?"
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* In the case of CHCO-TV - https://chco.tv/news.html
CHCO-TV26 Charlotte County Television
CHCO-TV. Independent Community Television. Charlotte County. St Andrews TV.
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This both is and is not on Meta.
Meta does not pay for reposted news. They probably should, but they don't and they won't. They have made that abundantly clear in the face of Canada's new law - even before it was law, and just a proposal.
Meta warned Canada that if they went forward with the law, they would just stop allowing news rather than pay. Canada went forward with the law, anyway.
Yes, Meta is exceptionally greedy and there is no reason they cannot or should not pay for news content (other than they have more power than Canada and can do whatever they want). But their stance was known and Canada went forward with the law anyway.
Meta is not blameless here, but the bulk of the blame goes to the Canadian government for calling Meta's bluff - on a losing hand.
Meta does not pay for reposted news. They probably should, but they don't and they won't. They have made that abundantly clear in the face of Canada's new law - even before it was law, and just a proposal.
Meta warned Canada that if they went forward with the law, they would just stop allowing news rather than pay. Canada went forward with the law, anyway.
Yes, Meta is exceptionally greedy and there is no reason they cannot or should not pay for news content (other than they have more power than Canada and can do whatever they want). But their stance was known and Canada went forward with the law anyway.
Meta is not blameless here, but the bulk of the blame goes to the Canadian government for calling Meta's bluff - on a losing hand.
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COL Randall Cudworth
I agree. My other post might seem like I'm on Meta's side, but the should share revenues with authors. However, I do agree with them that the way Canada has it implemented in law* is overly generous and is akin to them being forced to subsidize* the content creators.
Two of the biggest issues I see from Meta's point of view is that they and Google have been singled out (no other news aggregation services are affected) and that the model is reversed - they are being 'charged' just by having a link, regardless if it has any increase in traffic for Facebook (i.e., Johnny gets paid for showing up, not for doing his job).
My personal view is that Canada was too unbending on the implementation and should have come a bit more towards the common ground (I'm no expert, but have read the law and the views from the three key players).
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* C-18 - https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-18/royal-assent
* Meta's view - https://about.fb.com/news/2023/05/metas-position-on-canadas-online-news-act/
* Google's view - https://blog.google/intl/en-ca/company-news/outreach-initiatives/an-update-on-canadas-bill-c-18-and-our-search-and-news-products/
Two of the biggest issues I see from Meta's point of view is that they and Google have been singled out (no other news aggregation services are affected) and that the model is reversed - they are being 'charged' just by having a link, regardless if it has any increase in traffic for Facebook (i.e., Johnny gets paid for showing up, not for doing his job).
My personal view is that Canada was too unbending on the implementation and should have come a bit more towards the common ground (I'm no expert, but have read the law and the views from the three key players).
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* C-18 - https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-18/royal-assent
* Meta's view - https://about.fb.com/news/2023/05/metas-position-on-canadas-online-news-act/
* Google's view - https://blog.google/intl/en-ca/company-news/outreach-initiatives/an-update-on-canadas-bill-c-18-and-our-search-and-news-products/
Government Bill (House of Commons) C-18 (44-1) - Royal Assent - Online News Act - Parliament of...
Government Bill (House of Commons) C-18 (44-1) - Royal Assent - Online News Act - Parliament of Canada
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