Severe forest fires are currently raging in Canada. However, users on Facebook and Instagram are hardly receiving, at times life-saving, information about the current crisis situation. This is because these platforms have recently removed all news outlets from their feeds.
This summer, tens of thousands of Canadians have had to leave their homes due to intense forest fires. By mid-August, 14 million hectares of forest had already burned, and four people had died. The government of British Columbia has described the situation as “the most devastating wildfire period of all time.”
In times of crisis, swift and reliable information is crucial. Yet, a hindrance has arisen in Canada: since August 2023, Facebook and Instagram have not been showing news from media outlets to their Canadian users.
The new “Online News Act” stipulates that platforms like Facebook and Instagram should pay Canadian media when sharing their content. Meta, the parent company, wants to prevent this. As a result, they are opposing the planned regulation, set to take effect in December, and are blocking news content on the Canadian versions of their platforms. This means that media outlets can no longer share news in the form of links, articles, or videos on Facebook and Instagram in Canada, and users cannot see or share such content anymore.
In the current wildfire crisis, warnings and evacuation orders cannot be spread as rapidly as they could through Facebook’s or Instagram’s sharing and liking features.
This is particularly noteworthy as many Canadians, much like in Germany, are accustomed to getting their news from social media, according to the state broadcaster CBC.
Despite criticism, Meta emphasized to CNN that they will continue to provide their Canadian users with information – primarily from authorities, emergency services, and NGOs, not from news outlets.
Meta argues that they do not unduly profit from media outlets posting content. In fact, Facebook and Instagram would help media outlets expand their reach.
This is not the first time Meta has taken such actions. In 2021, the company blocked news content in Australia due to a similar law. Now, they pay after reaching an agreement with the government and the media. The situation is similar in Germany and France. However, in Germany, Meta does not recognize the press ancillary copyright law, which leads to ongoing dissatisfaction.
In Canada, given the “Online News Act,” Meta seems prepared to permanently block news. Current analyses indicate that Meta is losing interest in news content in their feeds overall, regardless of global events.