The past year has witnessed a multitude of unforeseen developments in legal proceedings. Among the most consequential occurrences is the enactment of Bill C-18, wherein constraints were imposed on the utilisation of news media within the realm of social media. An understanding of the rationales behind the passage of this bill and its ramifications for ordinary Canadians will surely demonstrate the profound significance of this legal matter.
Social media serves as a pivotal conduit for daily news consumption, particularly among the younger demographic, leveraging platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Prohibiting news dissemination on these platforms substantively restricts this demographic's access to current information. Although alternative sources like online articles and televised news broadcasts exist, it is imperative to acknowledge the prevalent paywalls characterising online content and the financial requisites associated with television ownership and cable subscriptions for news accessibility. Consequently, social media emerges as the most cost-effective and facile means for individuals to remain abreast of pertinent information.
Many argue that the ban on news dissemination via social media stems from concerns about its notorious inaccuracies and propagation of false information. However, a parallel argument can be applied to written and televised news. The true reason behind this ban is rooted in Bill C-18, also recognized as the online news act, which compels tech companies to remunerate news outlets and journalists for their publications on their platforms—a measure that Meta, the entity overseeing these social media sites, opposes participating in.
The announcement of Meta's commitment to enforcing the ban transpired shortly after the bill received royal assent in June 2023. Consequently, during the six months following the assent, the Department of Canadian Heritage will initiate the drafting of regulations delineating the specifications within the act and elucidating the modalities of its implementation.
The Canadian Heritage Foundation asserts the fundamental role of a "free and independent press" in our democracy. Paradoxically, they persist in obstructing Canadians from accessing such a press. While citing the prevalence of misinformation as the rationale behind the bill, they take no concrete measures to address this issue in other media outlets. Some contend that this is the Canadian government's stance against prominent tech companies, while others argue it's a strategy to keep Canadians uninformed about news and parliamentary affairs.
Since 2008, over 470 media outlets in Canada have closed, accompanied by a 33% decline in Canadian journalism jobs during the same period. Despite the potential provided by social media in countering this decline, the passage of this bill is anticipated to exacerbate the gradual demise of these outlets.
Despite the evident drawbacks of this legislation, the Canadian government contends that it will address the existing imbalance between publishers and news outlets. Publishers are now empowered to engage in direct negotiations for their compensation with digital giants, who are obligated to remit payment.
This legislation is modelled after a comparable one implemented in Australia, where the government mandated digital companies to remunerate for the use of digital news content. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reports that over $190 million has been allocated to Australian media companies since the enactment of this law last year. Despite initial resistance from tech companies, they eventually negotiated agreements with news outlets to preempt potential consequences, notably including threats of search engine shutdowns, exemplified by the case of Google.
In conclusion this bill has its benefits and drawbacks however it is clear that it is not in the interest of those who wish to stay updated on news quickly and efficiently. Therefore though this may possibly be helpful to reporters the way it was in Australia it has yet to do so and seemingly will not be doing so any time soon.
References
Mundie, Jessica. “Canadians Will No Longer Have Access to News Content on Facebook and Instagram, Meta Says | CBC News.” CBCnews, June 23, 2023. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/online-news-act-meta-facebook-1.6885634.
Link to Document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12f2ROnbyXAtfpo0tvlJWsIBbNmXVRbZgU4YyXnRWu2g/edit?usp=sharing
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