You can no longer read news on Facebook and Instagram in Canada

Has your newsfeed recently showed a few boxes telling you that Meta will no longer be displaying news on its platforms? Here’s why.

Yesterday, the social media giant pulled the trigger on permanently ending news availability in Canada.

The move comes in response to the federal government in June passing its Online News Act, Bill C-18, which would require large tech companies like Google and Meta to pay for showing links to news. The government argued that tech giants have eaten a large portion of ad dollars that news outlets relied on for the business. The legislation was supposed to put some of that money back into the pockets of news outlets.

Instead, Meta has chosen to block all news content on Facebook and Instagram. Canadians will on longer be able to view or post news content from news outlets, including international ones.

The company had previously been hiding news content for some Canadians in preparation for C-18 becoming law. As of yesterday, the ban has been extended across the country, even though the Bill itself won’t come into force until the end of the year.

"In the future, we hope the Canadian government will recognize the value we already provide the news industry and consider a policy response that upholds the principles of a free and open internet," Rachel Curran, Meta's head of public policy in Canada, said in a statement.

What does this mean for you?

As a Canadian reader, you will no longer be able to view or share news content on Facebook and Instagram, including articles and audio-visual content from news outlets.

The impact of these changes

It’s a terrible outcome that will have devastating effects on the entire news ecosystem, including us.

We now face the prospect of fewer clicks to our stories. Readers will have less access to quality information, and critically, will be unable to discover our work through the most popular social media websites.

Put another way, this diminishes the chance of being able to find local news from the outlets you know, love, and depend on. And it severely impacts our ability to grow our audience and potentially attract partners who fund and support what we do.

How can you still see Vancouver Tech Journal stories?

Even if you don’t use Meta products for your news, there’s also a chance that other platforms like Google might also pull Canadian news links from its sites in the near future.

If you want to keep getting our stories and keeping up with your local tech community, you can take these steps:

Membership: Fund our work by becoming a member for as low as $1.90 a week, when you sign up for an annual subscription. You’ll get all of these perks and more.

Newsletters: Subscribe or refer a friend to our newsletter to have our latest content delivered directly to your inbox. You’ll get our newest stories, lists of events, summaries of news in the tech community, and ideas and insights from local professionals.

Website: Bookmark our site or check regularly for new stories.

VTJ Community Slack: Join our VTJ Community Slack workspace, where we post must-read stories as well as provide a place for Vancouver professionals to connect online.

LinkedIn: You can still follow us on LinkedIn, as well as connect with our writers Kate, William, and James to see the latest stories.

Twitter (X): You can also still follow us on Twitter (X) at @cdntechjournal, as well as our writers Kate, William, and James.

In person: Vancouver Tech Journal runs a number of events every week. If you want to know the latest news you can ask us in person, or check in with your community.