By Canadian Press

Facebook has serious concerns over online news bill, looking at future response

Apr 26, 2022 | 2:41 PM

OTTAWA — Digital giant Meta says it has serious concerns about the federal government’s online news bill, which would force tech companies to compensate news groups for reusing work on their platforms.

Rachel Curran of Meta Canada told a parliamentary committee today that the company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is going through the proposed law in detail before deciding on a future response.

Canada’s bill to support the news industry is modelled on law in Australia, where Facebook introduced a temporary ban on viewing and sharing news on its social media site last year in protest of the draft legislation.

At the House of Commons committee on public safety, Conservative MP Raquel Dancho asked Curran if a similar ban in Canada was off the table for Facebook.

Curran says Meta it still considering its future actions, based on its evaluation of the bill, adding it was not consulted on its content.

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A spokeswoman for Pablo Rodriguez says both the minister and his staff met with Meta about the bill.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2022. 

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Meta funds a fellowship that supports journalism positions at The Canadian Press.

The Canadian Press