VOA News | Friday, February 16, 2024 
Facebook News Ban in Canada Leaves Small Outlets Struggling 

Halifax, Nova Scotia — More than six months into a battle of wills between Facebook and the Canadian government, the biggest losers so far appear to be small local news outlets in Canada. That was not the goal when the government introduced its Online News Act last year, requiring large social media companies to compensate Canadian news organizations for their original content that is posted and shared on the digital giants’ platforms. Google eventually reached a deal in November, under which it contributes $73.6 million a year to be distributed among Canadian news publishers. But Facebook’s parent company, Meta, responded by blocking all news sharing on its platforms in Canada, saying there was therefore no entities who deserved compensation. There is little evidence that the largest Canadian media companies have been seriously hurt by the boycott, which was initiated in August 2023, and Facebook itself appears to have registered no measurable loss in traffic or users. But small local news outlets that relied heavily on Facebook to attract audiences to their own websites say they are suffering…Read more