By Ketki Saxena
investing.com -- Canada's Heritage Minister, Pablo Rodriguez, has announced that the federal government is discontinuing its advertising activities on major social media platforms - Meta owned Facebook (NASDAQ:META) and Instagram.
This decision was unveiled at a press conference where Rodriguez was accompanied by representatives from both Bloc Québécois and NDP, which also support the decision.
The move from the Feds is retaliation to Meta Platforms Inc.'s pledge to restrict Canadian news content on its widely-used platforms - Facebook and Instagram in the context of Canada's newly enacted Online News Act.
The new law imposes obligations upon tech behemoths like Meta to compensate media organizations for repurposing or sharing their content on these digital platforms.
Meta had already begun blocking content to some users ahead of the bill being passed into law. The company’s action has been criticized as "unreasonable" and "irresponsible" by Rodriguez.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has also expressed intentions of blocking Canadian news once the act becomes operational in six months’ time. However, according to Rodriguez, ongoing discussions between Google and the government are going well; he believes that any concerns raised will be addressed effectively through implementing regulations associated with the bill itself.