Justin Trudeau Accuses Facebook Of Fighting Democracy And Economy By Refusing To Pay For News

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (photo: twitter @CanadianPM)

JAKARTA - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday 9 May said that Meta Platforms Inc's rejection of legislation would force payments by Facebook units and other internet companies for journalistic content was based on incorrect arguments that news had no economic value.

In a speech to parliamentary committees on the Trudeau administration's legislation on Monday, May 8, a Meta official said that news had social value, but had no economic value for the company.

"If we are asked to compensate publishers for material that has no economic value for us, here's the problem," Meta's Head of Public Policy in Canada, Rachel Curran, told the committee.

Trudeau on Tuesday said that "the legislation proposed by the internet giants is not only wrong, but also dangerous for our democracy and our economy."

"Facebook's refusal to pay for news content shows how irresponsible and indifferent they are," Trudeau told reporters at Ottawa.

Legislation, namely the Online News Act or Bill C-18, proposes rules to force platforms like Facebook and Alphabet's Google to negotiate commercial deals and pay news publishers for their content, which are similar to the groundbreaking laws adopted in Australia in 2021.

Neither Google nor Meta have warned that they will attract access to news articles on their platforms in Canada if the law is passed without amendments. Their main observation (objection) is paying for links to news articles posted on their websites that they say will not be sustainable for their businesses.

Facebook says links to news articles only account for less than 3% of content on their users' feed, and that journalists benefit by posting their jobs on social media platforms.

"A person reporting atrocities in Bucha (Ukraine) is not trying to get likes on their Facebook page," Trudeau said.