All news in Canada will be removed from Facebook, Instagram within weeks: Meta
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Discovering news articles and videos on Facebook and Instagram will soon become a relic of the past, as Meta announced it is officially ending news availability in Canada.
Discovering news articles and videos on Facebook and Instagram will soon become a relic of the past, as Meta announced it is officially ending news availability in Canada.
Meta said Tuesday that within a few weeks, it will remove news for all Canadian users of its popular Facebook and Instagram platforms.
In June the company started running a test that limited news for up to five per cent of users, but now it says it is moving out of the testing phase.
"In order to provide clarity to the millions of Canadians and businesses who use our platforms, we are announcing today that we have begun the process of ending news availability permanently in Canada," said Rachel Curran, head of public policy for Meta Canada. Curran previously served as a policy adviser for former prime minister Stephen Harper.
That means Canadians will no longer be able to share or view news articles and other content posted by publishers and broadcasters, including international outlets.News links to articles, reels -- which are short-form videos -- or stories, which are photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours, are also expected to be affected by the block.
People outside of Canada will not see a change.
Paul Deegan, president of News Media Canada, said this "intemperate" action will harm user experience and devalue the Facebook platform.
