When no news is bad news: Canadian news blocked on Facebook

10/08/23

Facebook and Instagram have officially blocked news content in Canada.

This groundbreaking event has been eloquently reported by Fortune, providing an in-depth exploration of the implications of this blockade and its ripple effects on the journalism industry and digital communication. Here’s what we know and how it will affect businesses and social media users.

The Tech Giants’ stand

Meta, which owns Facebook, a social media giant that has become a major conveyor belt for news around the world, has decided to drop Canadian news outlets.

With this bold action, Facebook has basically put Canadian news outlets out of service. The impact? These news providers now find themselves struggling to reach their own Canadian audience as well as the global community that uses Facebook as their go-to source for Canadian news.

Not only Facebook – Google is blocking news too

But it is not only Facebook that has taken such a dramatic step. As CBC reports, Google is distancing itself from Canadian news too, having announced plans to remove Canadian news content from its services. This move by another tech heavyweight adds a new layer to the ongoing global discourse on the relationship between tech giants and the media industry.

The impact on news dissemination

Both Meta’s and Google’s actions have caused a concerning trend in the relationship between global tech platforms and the journalism industry. These actions pose questions about the future of news dissemination and the role that these platforms should play in a world increasingly reliant on digital means for information, as well as businesses that rely on Canadian news in their social media postings.

At Legendary Social Media, we still have so many questions, like:

Will unofficial news blogs be blocked too? And if not, how will this affect the quality of news on Facebook?
Can Canadian Facebook users get around this by re-setting their location to USA or elsewhere?
How does this affect brands that share news content about their community?

Given the reach and influence of platforms like Facebook and Google, their decisions to block news in Canada are bound to significantly impact how information is shared and consumed. Not only does it create a void for millions of users who rely on these platforms for news updates, but it also hampers the ability of news organizations to disseminate official, fact-checked information to the public.

Questions on information access and freedom of expression

At its core, this is an issue of access to information and freedom of expression. The decision to remove news from Canadians’ feeds and Google search results has raised questions about the role tech giants play in controlling the flow of information and the impact on democratic discourse. It brings to light the potential for misuse of the digital sphere where a few corporations can influence what information is seen or hidden.

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