Meta Rejects Canada's New Law Requiring 4% Revenue Payment for News Content

Gate News message, April 15 — Meta has rejected Canada’s new legislation that would compel the social media giant to pay news providers for content shared on Facebook and Instagram. The law, announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, requires Meta and Alphabet Inc. (Google) to contribute a minimum of 4% of their annual Canadian revenues to news outlets in exchange for featuring links to news articles.

According to government estimates, Meta’s Facebook must disburse C$62 million (approximately USD $127 million) annually, while Google must contribute C$172 million per year. The legislation is set to take effect on December 19. Meta’s head of public policy in Canada, Rachel Curran, stated that the company will not change its business decision, saying the new regulations are based on “incorrect assertions” about how Meta benefits from news content.

Meta has already begun enforcing its resistance to the requirement. Since August, the company blocked Canadian Facebook and Instagram users from accessing news content, cutting off a significant source of web traffic for news organizations. Google has also indicated it may cut off Google News links in Canada if the law proceeds.

Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge defended the legislation, stating that tech platforms “have to act responsibly and support the news sharing they and Canadians both benefit from.” Government authorities acknowledged they had not communicated the regulatory framework to the corporations prior to the announcement and plan to initiate discussions with these companies in the coming weeks.