The BC government has once again called on Meta to unblock news in Canada as the province enters another wildfire season with media outlets banned from Facebook and Instagram.
News has been unavailable on Meta platforms since the summer of 2023.
Meta said it had removed articles “in order to comply with the Online News Act,” a federal law that was designed to make US tech giants pay for news content posted to their platforms.
Contrary to its expressed intention, the legislation has been devastating for local and small outlets.
Premier David Eby has attacked Meta over the decision numerous times, claiming Mark Zuckerberg’s firm was “holding British Columbians to ransom” in its attempt to make a point to Ottawa.
But last week, Eby spoke positively of Meta after the company agreed to work with the provincial government on kids’ safety online.
He also said Meta had “committed to working with BC’s emergency management officials to help amplify official information for people in emergency situations like wildfires."
The premier made no mention of news in his statement about wildfires and Meta, despite saying earlier this year that he’d only meet with the company if it unblocked articles.
When asked a series of questions by NowMedia, including whether Eby discussed Meta’s ongoing ban on news during recent interactions with the company, the province refused to answer.
But a spokeswoman did explain that Eby’s April 23 statement about amplifying “official information” came as “a result of concerns raised by the premier and others about access to news coverage on Meta’s platforms about wildfires in 2023.”
“We look forward to sharing more information about this important work soon,” she added.
In a separate statement sent to NowMedia, the Ministry of Finance emphasized the government’s position that “access to news should not be blocked.”
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“In response to the Meta media blackout, the BC government has stopped all advertising on Facebook and Instagram, with a limited exception for critical health and safety information,” the statement explained.
The ministry said journalism is “an essential service” that keeps people safe during emergencies.
It went on: “With wildfire season beginning, and BC already experiencing drought conditions, we once again implore Meta to not block people’s access to critical information.”
In January, the premier accused Meta of putting profit before safety. Last year, he even made a personal appeal to Zuckerberg, pleading with the billionaire: “Open up access to Canadian media so that British Columbians can share critical local information so they can be safe.”
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Ravi Parmar, the NDP government’s parliamentary secretary for international credentials, told NowMedia last week that he finds it “completely unacceptable” that Meta continues to block news during wildfire season.
He added: “I can't think of an issue that pisses me off more, and the premier as well, and that's why the premier has taken Meta, TikTok, Instagram, X, or Twitter or whatever they call it these days, to task on this issue.”
News can still be posted on TikTok, X and other social media platforms.
Law professor Michael Geist told NowMedia earlier this week that Meta seems to be “out of news in Canada.”
But he said that, if the “stubborn” Liberal government were to back down on requiring Meta to “pay for linking to news,” then the firm would most likely allow articles to return to Facebook and Instagram.
NowMedia has requested interviews from Meta, the Canadian Heritage and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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