St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle says with the rise of disinformation, a free and independent press is now more important than ever
St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle is expressing concern about a decision from Google and Meta to block news content in Canada.
Earlier this week, Meta began restricting access to news from Canadian broadcasters on Facebook and Instagram.
The move is in response to the federal Online News Act, which required tech giants to pay Canadian news publishers for content that is shared or repurposed online.
Google meanwhile has warned that it will make a similar move once the law takes effect, which is expected to happen at the end of the year.
Bittle says Meta's actions are concerning, given shrinking newsrooms and a rise in disinformation.
"In an era of disinformation, where companies like Meta profit off of disinformation, the best remedy for that is a strong and independent free press. If there is no revenue coming in, news outlets are going to close down."
He adds the federal government has taken off millions of ad revenue dollars off of Facebook in response.
Bittle also notes this isn't an issue just within Canada.
"I've met with legislators from other countries who are keen and watching Canada and want to enact the same thing in their countries. So the way to tackle these companies that are far too powerful and have a wide global reach is to stand firm."
Both Meta and Google have said the law would place financial burdens on them, but Bittle says this wouldn't have been enough to impact their bottom line.
Several news organizations have written to the Competition Bureau, asking them to investigate Meta's actions.
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