Canadian Government Asks Meta Platform Inc., Opening News Ban For Forest Fire Information

Canadian Culture Minister, Pascale St-Onge (photo: Twitter @PascaleStonge_).

JAKARTA - The Canadian government on Friday 18 August demanded that Meta Platform Inc., remove a "sembrono" ban on domestic news from its platform to allow people to share information about forest fires in the western part of the country.

Meta began blocking news on its Facebook and Instagram platforms for all users in Canada this month in response to a new law requiring the internet giant to pay for news articles displayed.

Some people fleeing forest fires in a remote town of Yellowknife have complained to domestic media that the ban prevents them from sharing important data about fires.

"The reckless choice of Meta to block news... harms access to important information on Facebook and Instagram," Culture Minister Pascale St-Onge said in a post on social media.

"We are calling them to reactivate today's news sharing for the safety of Canadians who are facing this emergency. We need more news right now, not less," he said.

Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez previously said that the ban meant people had no access to important information.

Chris Bittle, a legislator from the ruling Liberal Party, complained on Thursday 17 August that Meta's "acts to block news are reckless and irresponsible."

Total Williams, who runs the digital radio station Cabin Radio on Yellowknife, told Canadian Broadcasting Corp., that people uploaded screenshots of information on Facebook because they couldn't share links to news feeds.

In response, a Meta spokesperson said via email that the company has activated the "Safety Check" feature on Facebook that allows users to disseminate information that they are safe after a natural disaster or crisis.

" Canadians can use Facebook and Instagram to access content from official government agencies, emergency services, and non-governmental organizations," the spokesman added.

Meta says users don't come to its platform for news and force companies to pay for content shared on its platform that can't be maintained for its business.