The federal government has quietly started talks with Meta about restoring news on Facebook and Instagram, according to The Globe and Mail. The move comes as Canada’s digital laws become a key issue in trade negotiations with the United States.
Meta blocked Canadian news on its platforms in 2023 after Ottawa passed the Online News Act, to comply with the new legislation. The law would have required large tech companies to pay news publishers for sharing their content on Facebook and Instagram. Google later agreed to pay $100 million a year under the act, but Meta chose to stop news sharing altogether. The ironic result? People on Facebook now just share full text or screenshots of news articles, resulting in publishers not getting clicks and ad revenue.
For more than two years, the dispute appeared stuck. Then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly criticized Meta and ruled out any compromise at the time. “We’re not backing down on this, this goes to the core of a free and informed society that is able to take responsible decisions in a democracy,” Trudeau said in 2023.
The government’s approach has shifted under Prime Minister Mark Carney, as Canada prepares for a 2026 review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement. The Trump administration has described the Online News Act as a trade irritant, arguing it unfairly targets U.S. technology companies.
Alisson Lévesque, a spokesperson for Canadian Identity Minister Marc Miller, confirmed to The Globe and Mail that officials from the Department of Canadian Heritage are now in discussions with Meta. “We want news back. How do we go there is a question mark and that’s why we are having conversations,” Lévesque said. “We are looking at how to get there.”
Miller has also said Ottawa is willing to be flexible as talks with the U.S. continue, though he has stressed that Canada will not allow Washington to fully dictate its laws.
Meta has not changed its position on paying for news. Rachel Curran, Meta Canada’s head of public policy, told a parliamentary committee that publishers benefit from Facebook through increased traffic and advertising opportunities.
“News publishers place their content on our platforms because they get increased distribution and then can monetize the clicks that they receive as a result from that distribution,” Curran said. “We would love to put news back on our platforms and we are hopeful that can happen.”
Any agreement would likely require Ottawa to exempt Meta from the Online News Act, potentially ending a standoff that has kept news off Facebook and Instagram for nearly three years.
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The bigger question is why are people still getting or wanting their news on Meta? Worst of all. media outlets for the most part have not shuttered their Meta accounts. Then you have those nutbars like @Park Jihyo who get their "facts" from only one source: TikTok. 🤦♂️