In Canada’s ongoing battle with Big Tech, smaller publishers are finding themselves caught in the crossfire. The Canadian government introduced the Online News Act, also known as Bill C-18, with the aim of ensuring fairness in the digital news marketplace and providing compensation to independent local news businesses. However, tech giants Meta (formerly Facebook) and Google responded by blocking news content on their platforms in Canada.
Meta went through with its threat, leading to an inability for Canadians to access news on Facebook and Instagram. These platforms are widely popular in Canada, with a significant portion of the population relying on them for news consumption. Google also announced plans to remove links to Canadian news from its search results, news pages, and Google Discover when the law goes into effect.
While this move by tech giants has a negative impact on Canadian audiences, it is particularly detrimental to small independent news businesses, which the legislation intended to protect. To understand how the law is affecting these smaller news organizations, interviews were conducted with leaders of such publications affected by the Meta blackout, as well as Canadian journalism scholar Alfred Hermida, who has studied digital media in the country for several decades.
The Online News Act aimed to redirect some of the advertising revenue lost by the news industry during the digital revolution back to news organizations. It was estimated that Google and Meta combined held an 80% share of the CAD$14 billion online ad revenue in Canada in 2022. However, for smaller independent publications, the new law has had a negative impact.
Alfred Hermida emphasizes the importance of social media for audience engagement, especially for local startups with limited marketing budgets. He estimates that local news organizations, which heavily relied on platforms like Facebook, have seen a sudden drop in their audience of between 20% to 30% since the Meta blackout.
One example of an affected small news organization is River Valley Sun, which serves a rural community in New Brunswick. They primarily posted their news articles on Facebook and saw a significant drop in online traffic after the Meta blackout. Similarly, Pink Triangle Press, a publisher of LGBTQ2S+ content, experienced a substantial decline in traffic and engagement on Facebook and Instagram.
IndigeNews, an independent news outlet serving Indigenous communities, also saw a significant drop in traffic from Facebook following the blackout.
The impact of the blackout is twofold: it deprives people of valuable news sources, and it hinders publishers’ ability to grow their audience. Smaller publishers relied on platforms like Facebook for “discovery” by casual readers who stumble upon news content in their feed.
Meta’s actions in Canada are part of a broader trend where the company has been reducing its focus on news content worldwide. They have made cuts to journalism programs, stopped paying US news publishers for content, reallocated resources from Facebook News, and retired the term “news feed” in favor of “feed.” In addition to the news blackout in Canada, Meta has also scaled back its partnership with The Canadian Press news agency.
The situation in Canada contrasts with Australia’s approach to regulating tech companies. In Australia, Facebook and Google struck private deals with media groups, preventing them from being designated under the law. Over 30 commercial agreements were signed, totaling AUD$200 million, which news organizations reinvested in their newsrooms.
However, in Canada, the tech giants do not want to be regulated and prefer to operate on their own terms. Smaller news outlets, in particular, are suffering as a result.
The conflict between Big Tech and Canadian news publishers comes at a time when Canadian journalism is facing significant challenges. Major media conglomerates have laid off hundreds of journalists and reduced local news coverage. The news blackout by Meta further threatens local and community journalism.
Despite the challenges, the government is not backing down. The CRTC, responsible for implementing the Online News Act, is set to begin the bargaining process between platforms and news organizations in late-2024. In the meantime, supporting small news outlets through newsletter sign-ups and engagement on their websites is crucial for their survival.