The conflict between the multinational meta and the Quebec and Canadian political class escalated further on Wednesday as Quebec, Ottawa and the city of Montreal announced the withdrawal of their ads from social media Facebook and Instagram.

“In solidarity with the media, the decision has been made to halt all government advertising on Facebook while Meta resumes discussions on the application of Bill C-18. “No company is above the law” wrote on Twitter Quebec Premier François Legault.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante was quick to make the same announcement on Wednesday afternoon, followed by her Quebec counterparts Bruno Marchand and Longueuil Catherine Fournier.

“Meta’s refusal to share journalistic information is of great concern. Access to verified and quality information is essential,” Herr explained^Me Attachment on a separate page.

It was Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez who kicked off the ball a little earlier during a Wednesday lunchtime news conference in Ottawa. He was accompanied by two elected officials from other federal parties: Martin Champoux, MP for the Bloc Québécois, stood at his side, and New Democrat Peter Julian attended from his home in British Columbia.

The minister clarified that Google is not affected by this announcement as the company is working with the famous search engine to “find a solution” with the government. This company, like Meta, is threatening to remove Canadian news content from its platform.

Ottawa puts the federal government’s advertising budget on Facebook and Instagram at around $10 million a year. “We will reinvest it in big campaigns,” promised Minister Rodriguez, without giving any further details.

A common message

The Online News Act aims to force the two major web advertising giants, Google and Meta, to negotiate with news media over the sharing of their content. Otherwise, they expose themselves to potentially costly arbitration. These platforms must continue to “make news content available” to their users.

In response to the passage of the law, Meta and then Google announced on June 22 that they would end referencing Canadian news for their users in Canada. This means that media posts may no longer appear in Google or Facebook feed search results by the end of the year.

“We will not be intimidated by American billionaires who want to damage our democracy,” chanted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday while passing through Saint-Hyacinthe. This is not just a dispute over an advertising issue. This is a dispute about a question of democracy. It’s about acknowledging the role that the giants of the web like Meta or Google play in our lives, and therefore also a responsibility. »

The Prime Minister made it clear that he would “not back down” from his plan to pass part of the News Act to these big internet companies. Full enactment of the law is expected no later than 180 days after the passage of the Online News Act, known as bill number C-18. This will therefore be the case until December 19th.

In Ottawa on Wednesday, the three elected officials from the Liberal Party of Canada, the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party spoke in unison to denounce the platforms’ stance. Their political formations supported C-18. Only the Conservative Party of Canada, which forms the official opposition, opposed it.

“In the case of C-18, the job was well done. I cannot blame the government for the response of digital companies,” said Bloc Québécois Martin Champoux. New Democrat Peter Julian also did not criticize the government for threatening to block news in the country. “The reality is that the web giants have to respect the law and democracy. »

The media react

The bipartisan exit in support of C-18 comes at a time when major Quebec media outlets have announced they will also stop advertising on meta-platforms.

Public media, Radio-Canada, has also taken a stand. In an open letter, the director-general for information, Luce Julien, denounces the fact that “the plurality of voices and points of view are being attacked, as Google and Facebook are doing”, which she says amounts to harming democratic life, health and harming the health and safety of the Canadian public.

In addition, Meta broke the agreements already concluded with several media outlets, including with The dutyconfirms its director Brian Myles, who fears that Google will do the same in the coming months “if nothing changes”.

For the director of Duty, The suspension of government spending with Meta represents “a step in the right direction”, but it “does not solve the basic problem”.

“We encourage Minister Rodriguez to find a way to unify Google and Meta in the spirit of C-18,” he said. And we hope that these companies will show social responsibility and openness to find a solution that is satisfactory for everyone. »

In a written statement sent to Duty, A Meta spokesperson echoed the company’s argument that media publishers choose to post to Facebook and Instagram “because it’s beneficial to them.”

“Unfortunately, the regulatory process is unable to make fundamental changes to the bill that have always been problematic and bring us into compliance,” it said.

With Annabelle Caillou

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