Facebook, Instagram to block news in Canada after bill passed

Facebook and Instagram users in Canada will be blocked from viewing Canadian news after the country passed a bill requiring digital giants to pay for such content.

Facebook and Instagram users in Canada will be blocked from viewing Canadian news after the country passed a bill requiring digital giants to pay for such content.

The new law requires digital giants to make fair commercial deals with Canadian outlets for news and information that is shared on their platforms or face binding arbitration.

It builds on Australia’s New Media Bargaining Code, a world’s first, aimed at making Google and Meta pay for news content on their platforms.

Australia, too, had accused the two companies, who dominate online advertising, of draining cash away from traditional news organisations while using their content for free.

Google, another critic of the Online News Act, has previously said it is considering a similar move.

The two Silicon Valley giants have pushed back against the bill, which aims to support a struggling Canadian news sector that has seen hundreds of publications closed in the last decade.