Meta decided to block news links on Facebook and Instagram in Canada earlier this month, in response to a law that required big tech to pay media outlets for posts on their platforms. However, the blocking appears to have had no effect and had no impact on Canadians’ use of Facebook.

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Facebook usage has not changed in Canada

• When it decided to block the news on Facebook, Meta clarified that these links represented less than 3% of the social network’s content and had no economic value.
• According to surveys commissioned by the Reutersthe statement appears to be true.
• According to data from Similarweb, the number of active users and time spent on Facebook in Canada has remained almost unchanged since the blockade.
• Even before that, the country’s most popular news sites were down about 35% a year, down 74% since 2020.
• According to Data.ai, since the beginning of August (date of the blockage), the figures related to the use of the platform have not seen any significant change either.

payment for news

The blockade began when the Online News Act (Ato de Notícias Online, in Portuguese) was passed by the Canadian Parliament, forcing platforms such as Google and Meta to negotiate commercial contracts with news companies to access their content.

Meta’s head of public policy in Canada, Rachelk Curran, objected to the move, saying the outlets voluntarily use Facebook and Instagram to “grow their audience and help them with their bottom line.” In other words, the relationships between the companies would be mutually beneficial.

Canada disagreed with the positioning of the Meta. Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, responsible for the government’s negotiations with big tech, said in a note that the company’s attitude is “irresponsible” and that it preferred to prevent users from accessing information rather than “paying its share”.

Meta and Google Answers

• In June this year, Google and Meta said they could block access to information in Canada if the law was passed – which they did.
• Both companies have agreements with media companies. Google even argued that the legislation in Canada was broader than that sanctioned in other countries, imposing prices for links.
• Meta, on the other hand, said that the information has no economic weight in the flow of Instagram and Facebook users, which could be proven by recent surveys.
• For the country’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, this argument is “dangerous for our democracy and our economy”.

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