Canada in talks with Meta to return news to Facebook as CUSMA review approaches
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The federal government says its willingness to talk with Meta about the possibility of returning online news to Facebook is part of ongoing conversations Canada is having with the United States as the CUSMA review approaches.
Hermione Landry, press secretary to Culture Minister Mark Miller, said, “The door to our government is always open to discussion on these issues. We have been having regular discussions with the platforms since the Online News Act was developed. This is nothing new.”
The Online News Act, which becomes law in 2023, would require tech giants like Google and Meta to pay media outlets for the news content they share or otherwise reuse on their platforms.
In late 2023, Google and the federal government reached an agreement under which Google would continue sharing Canadian news online in exchange for annual payments of $100 million to news companies.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, decided to take the other route outlined in the Online News Act, and removed all news from its platforms to avoid paying fees to news outlets.
CUSMA Review and Trading Issues
U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer told a congressional committee in December that a number of issues include online streaming actImproving dairy access and provincial restrictions on the sale of American alcohol, the Online News Act is a trade irritant because it treats American companies unfairly.
Greer told the committee during his initial comments That the CUSMA review – which will formally begin in July – “will depend on the successful resolution” of all these issues.
Landry told CBC News that Miller is well aware of the U.S. administration’s views when it comes to online streaming and the News Act and that Canada is “in ongoing discussions with META to find a way forward so that Canadians can access news wherever they are, including online.”
Landry said the summary of those talks, which are being led by Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, will not be made public.
miller told The Logic this week Canada is willing to be “flexible” when it comes to the Online News Act, but the US will not be given free rein to decide how that flexibility will work.
“The purpose of this Act is still very much alive,” he said Told The Logic. “We have to protect news providers from the new reality they are working in.”
