Many residents of Canada’s Northwest Territories, where huge fires are currently raging, turn to social media to stay in touch with their loved ones and stay informed in real time about the evolution of the fires. Except that Facebook now blocks access to media articles on its platform, as reported by the BBC.
In question, a recent law in Canada that obliges digital giants to conclude fair commercial agreements with the media, forcing them to pay publishers. In disagreement with this law, the Meta group began on August 1 to block Canadians’ access to media content on Facebook and Instagram.
Thus, Canadian users were unable to consult the information shared by the media on these two platforms. They also cannot see articles shared by their friends and a message is consistently displayed: “This content is not available in Canada.”
adapt uses
Then the inhabitants and the local authorities adapt. Instead of sharing an article, they take a screenshot and share it as an image. The Manitoba Provincial Police said earlier this summer that it would post messages directly to social media to spread the word.
Facebook groups like NWT Wildfires Safety Check are also widely used to evacuate fire areas and update information.
In early August, when Meta decided to block links to articles, the new Heritage Minister, Pascale St-Onge, called the decision “irresponsible”, noting that 80% of all online ad revenue in Canada goes to Target and Google.
Source: BFM TV
