MORRISBURG – Links to Canadian online news websites, including those of The Leader, will be removed from Facebook’s Canadian users.
The move by the Americian online social media platform’s parent company Meta, is in response to recently passed legislation.
The Online News Act, also known as Bill C-18, requires companies like Meta and Google to pay news content producers for the news aggregated across online platforms. Those online companies sell advertising on their platforms while also using news content without compensation.
Since the act received Royal Assent, Google and Facebook have been testing changes that will remove Canadian news content from Canadian users of their services.
“People in Canada will no longer view or share news on Facebook and Instagram, including news content posted by news outlets,” Facebook owner Meta said in a statement. “In addition, people in Canada will no longer see links or content from any news outlet Pages or Accounts.”
Facebook links account for less than 20 per cent of all online traffic that goes to The Leader each month.
“Since 2011, The Leader has reliably published news on our website,” said editor and publisher Sam Laurin. “Regardless of what social media platforms link or don’t link, we will continue to publish the top news stories of the week on our website.”
Laurin said the best way to get all the news from The Leader is by checking the website daily, as breaking news and obituaries are posted – and by purchasing a subscription to the print edition of The Leader.
Subscriptions, and the top local headlines, are available on our website at www.morrisburgleader.ca.