FACEBOOK is threatening to pull the plug on news stories in Canada over concerns about a new law.
The country wants tech giants like Meta to pay for links to news articles shared on their platforms.
1
Lawmakers are currently considering the huge move in a bid to force the company to “negotiate fair deals with news outlets when they profit from their work”.
But Facebook has warned it may have to ban news stories if it goes ahead.
“We believe the Online News Act misrepresents the relationship between platforms and news publishers, and we call on the government to review its approach,” said Marc Dinsdale, head of media partnerships at Meta Canada.
“In the face of adverse legislation based on false assumptions that defy the logic of how Facebook operates, we believe it’s important to be transparent about the possibility that we may be forced to reconsider allowing news content sharing in Canada.”
He claims posts with links to news articles make up less than 3 per cent of what people see in their Facebook Feed.
The social networking behemoth isn’t happy that it was not invited to discussions about the possible law too.
But Canada’s Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said the government continued to have “constructive conversations” with Facebook.
“All we’re asking the tech giants like Facebook to do is negotiate fair deals with news outlets when they profit from their work,” Rodriguez told Reuters.
Most read in Tech
Such a law would also affect the likes of Google.
Banning news articles from being shared on Facebook would be an extreme step but not one unfamiliar to the firm.
Last year, Mark Zuckerberg‘s tech empire blocked the sharing or viewing of news links on its platform in Australia in response to a proposed law compelling tech giants to pay for journalism.
The decision was eventually reversed following a global backlash and amendments to legislation.
Latest tips and tricks for social media apps
Social media apps like Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp have become vastly popular – but are always hiding new features or leading viral trends. So here are some of the best things to know…
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]
This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
