In response to the ongoing wildfire crisis, Catherine Tait, President & CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, has penned an urgent plea to Sir Nick Clegg, President of Global Affairs at Meta, regarding the critical need for timely news distribution on Meta’s platforms.
Canada’s Northern regions, including the Northwest Territories’ territorial capital, Yellowknife, and parts of British Columbia, are grappling with devastating wildfires. Over 600 active fires are presently ravaging these areas. During such dire circumstances, access to dependable, current information becomes a matter of life and death, says Tait.
Historically, residents of Canada’s North, encompassing Indigenous Peoples, have relied on Facebook as a primary source for news updates concerning their communities, writes Tait. However, they now face an alarming void of such vital information on Meta’s platforms Facebook and Instagram, due to a recent decision to block Canadian news accounts, in line with the Online News Act.
CBC/Radio-Canada says the news blockade not only hinders the sharing of urgent news from credible sources but also provides a breeding ground for misinformation and disinformation. CBC says Facebook and Instagram accounts specifically tailored for Northern communities and Indigenous Peoples aren’t accessible to relay essential updates like evacuation alerts.
The public broadcaster has emphasized that the decision to block news has no bearing on the upcoming Online News Act set to be implemented in mid-December. Additionally, there’s no existing financial agreement between CBC/Radio-Canada and Meta. Drawing a parallel with the global pandemic, Tait asserts that dire situations warrant exceptional measures to safeguard lives.
The plea underscores the immediate need for Meta to suspend its news blockade, especially concerning the wildfire emergency. The call to action highlights the humanitarian aspect of the issue, urging Meta to prioritize the welfare of affected communities during this crisis.
Copies of the letter have also been shared with notable figures, including The Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage; Garrick Tiplady, Managing Director, Canada, at Meta; and Claude Galipeau, Executive Vice-President of Corporate Development at CBC/Radio-Canada.
“CBC president calls on Meta to stop blocking news links. In ideal world, Meta wouldn’t be blocking CBC news links, because CBC news content would excluded from Bill C-18. Public has already funded it and anything extending its reach should be encouraged,” said University of Ottawa law professor, Michael Geist, in response to the CBC demand.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier this week Meta was prioritizing profits over democracy in the latter’s response to the Online News Act. Trudeau demanded Meta share its profits with Canadians, because legacy media hasn’t been smart enough to keep up with digital advertising like Mark Zuckerberg’s company.
Ironically, Trudeau’s Liberal Party continues to ramp up advertising on Facebook. As Geist points out, “As @JustinTrudeau once again criticizes Meta for complying with Bill C-18 by blocking news links, the Liberal party is running nearly 100 different active ads on the platform, including new ones that were launched just last week.”
Are Canadians smart enough to look for news on sources other than Facebook or Instagram? The government doesn’t think so it seems. How hard is it to visit the actual website of a news source, or even use X which has real-time news?
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The CBC has been along a lot longer than Meta. I should think that the evacuees, like everyone else, is fully capable of finding the CBC website.
i’m on facebeook and i don’t get my news from my feed, i visit other sources. the government gets an A+ in gaslighting and people like AntiquatedAntedope and Micheal Trudeau Jr up there are too blind to see through the government reality distortion field. but lets balme the messenger lmao
“legacy media hasn’t been smart enough to keep up”
Meanwhile this site hasn’t been smart enough to read to room and realize this sort of tepid editorializing in closing paragraphs has ruined its reputation as domestic tech news source. It was a good run, but I’m out.
This 100%. No idea why IIC thinks we need reminding they disapprove of the Liberal government… they’ve been clear already.
Facebook isn’t complying with the law by removing links. That’s almost the opposite of complying with the law. If you’re going to write with the quality of a gossip blog then maybe you should stop calling yourself news.
companies are complying with the online news act…the government was warned companies would stop sharing news to comply with the bill, maybe you should stick to TMZ and lainey gossip bud. Triggered much?
lol alright troll. Conservatives always like to make it out that we’re triggered – seems you’re the upset one.
Listen Antedope, you came here attacking and you have no response to why “fb isn’t comply with the law by removing links” and why it is “almost the opposite”. so please explain it to us then?
Dude you’re replying to every comment. You’re clearly the one triggered by JT here, and I’m no JT fan.
Is that statement false? Why should a government intervene into a private business and demand it share profits with Canadians?
Sounds like the truth has triggered you to throw a fit, perfect, just like a JT fanboi.
Yeah, I don’t swing either way and I couldn’t care less if it’s the Liberals or Conservatives that are being panned but this political editorializing starts to grate on me. Although I don’t particularly like the readers engaging in the political debate in the comments of a tech site (done it myself), that is still OK; people can exchange among themselves their opinions even if they are not tech related. But it is a different story when the author of a tech news article is trying to smuggle their own political affinities or aversions. Then it’s not “this is what I think” and more “this is what you should think”. It’s a form of a mild indoctrination.
Wow – this is the worst sort of fascism. Forcing Meta to pay CBC is just a happy coincidence.
The CBC should be making money, not losing money. oh well, just tax dollars right!!
Isn’t that why government exists? To make sure certain favoured companies managed by socialist morons make money at the expense of taxpayers who aren’t interested in their shitty-ass product?
This has got to be some of the most editorialized “news” I’ve seen from this website. I think the bill is poor constructed, but the writer of this article is acting like the bill is “meta must block the news”, when that’s not at all what it is.
its funny how when the big JT is questioned his army of lil softies come out to attack, divide and try to divide and conquer.
It would give the CBC something to report (other than their PMO’s daily script) if Meta did “Stop Following the Law and Unblock News”…
I do find it interesting the CBC seems to think you can suck and blow at the time but, they have managed to do that on the daily.
I wonder how many other news outlets would pay to have their links back on FB… oh wait, is that not backwards to the law? Interesting…