Oh boy, is the trend this year who bans what? The Canadian Government is looking to implement a new Online News Act, which would effectively force major platforms like Google and Meta to negotiate commercial deals with local news publishers. Meta has threatened to remove Canadian news outlets from Facebook entirely, should the act be passed in its current state.
The Canadian government seeks to address imbalances in the local media market, where Meta and Google have increasingly taken more of the ad market share. Meta has argued that it doesn’t actually need news content that much anymore, as per the basis of the legislation, given that most users don’t come to Facebook for news anyway.
That’s Not Meta
Meta is set to stand firm in its decision should these new rules be enforced, blocking Canadian news outlets completely. Deja Vu much? Back in 2021, the Australian Government established something similar – its Media Bargaining Code. The code was designed to force Google and Meta to share revenue with Australian news publishers for any use of news content, including links to their sites. As the name of the code suggests, its aim was to ‘address bargaining power imbalances between digital platforms and media companies’, ensuring that local news publishers can continue making money, sustaining local journalism even in this new digital era.
However, the legislation has always been flawed, as both companies have argued, as it makes little sense to enact such rules on platforms that help deliver news to audiences. Regardless, the Australian Government went ahead with its plan anyway, eventually leading to Meta completely banning Australian news publishers on its platform, avoiding unnecessary costs.
Granted, the ban lasted less than a week, but Meta made its point, eventually leading to a renegotiation of the terms of the code, making it more favorable to Meta and its interests. The Australian Government has since touted the code’s success, claiming over 30 commercial agreements have been established between Google, Meta, and Australian news businesses, seeing over $AU200 million being redistributed to local media providers annually.
The revenue-share program supposedly allowed the Australian Government to fund a range of educational and support programs to foster local media growth, which the Canadian Government is now looking to emulate. However, it seems that Canada might also need to change a few things about its approach because when Meta makes a threat, it’s pretty serious about it.
The Wrap
In recent times, it also seems true that Meta is now less reliant on news content anyway, with the whole TikTok short-form trend now driving more in-app engagement on all major platforms. Still, maybe they can get something out of it. With Australia’s example paving the way forward, you can bet that local news publishers are pushing to get anything they can from Google and Meta’s profits. In the end, an agreement will likely be reached, with a full news ban also being an option, at least for Meta, should it be unhappy with Canada’s regulatory decisions.
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