Meta begins process to end news access in Canada

Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it has begun the process to end access to news on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada.

The decision is a fallout of a legislation passed by Canadian parliament that would force platforms like Google parent Alphabet and Meta to negotiate commercial deals and pay Canadian news publishers for their content.

Such a legislation is also part of a broader global trend to make tech firms pay for news.

“As we’ve always said, the law is based on a fundamentally flawed premise. And, regrettably, the only way we can reasonably comply is to end news availability in Canada,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said on X social media platform, previously known as Twitter.