Facebook threatens to ban news in Canada over proposed Online Act

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook has reportedly threatened to block news in Canada if the country goes through its proposed Online News Act that forces online platforms like Facebook and Google to share revenue with the news publishers. In a blog post, Facebook parent company Meta said that the proposed Act falsely presumes that it "unfairly benefits from its relationship with publishers."

"We believe the Online News Act misrepresents the relationship between platforms and news publishers, and we call on the government to rethink its approach to help create a more fair and sustainable news industry in the long-term," Meta said.

Marc Dinsdale, head of media partnerships at Meta's Canadian unit, was quoted as saying in the Wall Street Journal that "we feel it is important to be transparent about the possibility that we may be forced to consider whether we continue to allow the sharing of news content in Canada".

Meta said that the Canadian government's approach is particularly misguided because, under the current system, Facebook helps publishers. IANS)

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