WASHINGTON, D.C.—Following a decision by Meta to block Canadian news on its Facebook and Instagram platforms, the National Association of Broadcasters and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters have joined with other critics to condemn the blackout as an example of Meta’s “monopolistic” power.
The dispute revolves around the recent passage of passage of Canada’s Online News Act which requires tech giants like Meta and Google to negotiate with producers of news content and potential pay for that content. In response to the law Meta announced on Monday July 31 that it would be removing Canadian news from its popular Facebook and Instagram sites.
The decision drew immediate condemnation by Canada’s public broadcaster, the CBC, who issued a statement saying “Meta’s move to deny Canadians access to domestic sources of trusted news and verified information…is irresponsible and an abuse of their market power.”
In a joint statement on August 4, NAB president and CEO Curtis LeGeyt and CAB president Kevin Desjardins also blasted the blackout.
“As national associations representing broadcasters in the U.S. and Canada, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) strongly urge lawmakers to support legislation that enables news providers to negotiate with dominant digital platforms for fair terms and conditions when our content appears on their platforms,” they said.
“Meta – a nearly trillion-dollar company – repeatedly chooses to restrict news content for its users to avoid compensating news producers for the value it gains on their vital journalism,” they said. “These retaliatory tactics demonstrate Meta’s monopolistic dominance over the advertising marketplace and its ability to dictate how radio and TV broadcasters, newspapers and others can reach audiences online. Rather than working to ensure its users have access to trusted news and information, Meta is holding news content on its platform hostage.”
“Policymakers should not reward Meta’s coercive behavior,” they concluded. “At a time when misinformation, disinformation and AI-generated content proliferate online, the future of democracy relies on the accessibility of fact-based, trustworthy journalism.”
Tech giants who have been able to use news content for free in their search engines and social media platforms to help build businesses valued at hundreds of billions of dollars have furiously attacked the Canadian law and threatened to remove news content rather than pay for it.
Both Meta and Google have threatened to remove the content, though only Meta has started the process of removing it.
Prior to the passage of the Canadian law this summer, Australia passed legislation in 2021 forcing Facebook and Google to pay for the content on their platforms.
In the U.S., legislation has been introduced in Congress and in California to force large tech companies like Google and Meta to pay for news content but these proposals have not been passed into law.
