Canadian news lost 58% of online engagement since Meta news ban
Total news engagement on social media plummeted so drastically that it led to 11 million fewer views on Canadian media websites, with some 212 mostly local outlets shuttering in response to Bill C-18.
Social media engagement with Canadian news fell by more than half, one year after Meta’s Canadian news ban.
The passing of Bill C-18, the Online News Act, forced tech giant Meta to bar Canadian news on its platform. Google complied with the bill last month, agreeing to conditionally pay government-approved media $100 million annually.
"Thanks to the Online News Act, newsrooms across the country will now be able to negotiate fairly for compensation when their work appears on the biggest digital platforms. It levels the playing field by putting the power of big tech in check and ensuring that even our smallest news business can benefit through this regime and receive fair compensation for their work," then-Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said last June 22.
A month later, Meta banned the sharing of all Canadian news to their sites for Canadian users.
One year into the news ban, engagements with local Canadian news outlets fell by over five million (58%) on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube, according to new research. Canadian news engagement declined by 24% nationwide.
"The fact that these internet giants would rather cut off Canadians’ access to local news than pay their fair share is a real problem, and now they’re resorting to bullying tactics to try and get their way. It’s not going to work," Prime Minister Trudeau said at the time.
The Meta news ban had a limited impact on Canadian user traffic, reported Reuters. Canadian news constitutes less than 3% of content on their feeds, leaving the company with no intention of lifting its Canadian news ban.
Some media personalities have since criticized the federal government for its approach, reported The Hub, since outlets are on the hook for the lost website traffic.
"With links to news pages banned, the millions of readers Facebook had been sending the industry’s way every day—for free—vanished. The government had calculated that Facebook was bluffing. It wasn’t," wrote Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne.
Coyne, alongside Rudyard Griffiths of The Hub, signed the Ottawa Declaration, condemning continued media subsidies. "Our media companies will not accept the per-employee subsidies currently on offer from government and industry," it reads.
Explaining Bill C-18 and Trudeau's wide-ranging plans to destroy Canadian free speech
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) July 15, 2023
This episode originally aired on April 6, 2023.@EzraLevant explained the potential impact of Bill C-18, the Online News Act. Just like C-11 makes social media companies broadcasters for… pic.twitter.com/iIJA1IAJq9
Total Canadian news engagement fell so drastically on social media, that it resulted in 11 million fewer views on their websites, according to the report published by the Media Ecosystem Observatory (MEO).
"The ban has had the most severe impact on local news organizations in Canada," MEO analyst Sara Parker told The Hub. "Many lack the resources to build an audience from the ground up on any other platform."
One year into the ban, 212 mostly local news outlets went offline, while 501 local and 54 national outlets remain active.
Facebook and Instagram drove the decline, it said. Just over half (51%) of users on either platform said they were unaware of the news ban.
"The worst part is that the majority of Canadians haven't even noticed this is happening," Parker said. Since 2008, 516 local Canadian radio, print, TV, and online news outlets have closed.
At least 36 local news outlets shuttered operations across Canada last year. They blamed the Meta news ban for their demise.
Our Instagram pages have been blocked due to the Trudeau Liberals passing Bill C-18.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) July 15, 2023
Sign our petition: https://t.co/oWBk4bRc3C. pic.twitter.com/ZRYb4DjeEo
Meanwhile, Google agreed to fund Canadian media $100 million annually, but would not entertain making payments until it receives a full exemption that permits the tech giant to pay into a single collective media fund.
News organizations must be recognized as qualified Canadian journalism organizations under the Income Tax Act to qualify for such payments. Google attracted 1,500 funding applicants earlier this year.
CBC/Radio-Canada will not receive more than $7 million from the annual fund, with another $30 million, at most, being reserved for other broadcasters.
The remainder will go to other qualifying news outlets, such as newspapers and digital platforms.
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