Canadians receive nearly a third of their news through social media, underscoring the potential impact of a plan by Meta Platforms Inc. to block local publishers’ content over a Trudeau government law.
Polling by Nanos Research Group for Bloomberg News shows a mean of 29% when respondents were asked what percentage of daily news they get from social media. Those between the ages of 18 to 34 were most reliant compared to other groups, accessing 34% of their news from these sites on average.
Sizable news consumption through social media including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram highlights a challenge for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government is trying to force tech giants to pay for news only to be hit back with plans to end access on the platforms.
The government passed the Online News Act last month, which requires platforms to negotiate commercial deals with publishers for featuring news content to level the playing field. But the law has turned Canada into the latest battleground for tech giants pushing back against similar legislation globally.
Meta along with Alphabet Inc.’s Google said they intended to block news on their platforms by the time the law takes effect before the end of the year. Given the importance of news access for both Canadian consumers and publishers, Trudeau’s administration is now attempting to avoid such an outcome.
“We’re deeply convinced that Google’s and Facebook’s concerns could be resolved through the regulatory process,” Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Monday in a statement. “Threats to pull news instead of complying with the laws in our country only highlight the power that platforms hold over news organizations, both big and small.”
Rodriguez released a document about next steps in the regulatory process that appeared to be aimed at alleviating some of the digital giants’ concerns. He said regulations would consider existing agreements the platforms have with news businesses — an apparent overture to Alphabet, which has promised to scrap deals with more than 150 local publishers when the law takes effect, and Meta, which has already begun canceling such deals.
Rodriguez said regulations would also make clear which platforms are captured by the law and what the agreements negotiated between news businesses and platforms must do to get an exemption.
The Nanos survey of 1,043 people was conducted by phone and online between June 29 and 30. It’s considered accurate within 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
A separate poll from the Angus Reid Institute showed that while three in five Canadians agreed that digital platforms should pay Canadian organizations, nearly two thirds of respondents were concerned about losing access to Canadian news on Facebook and Google. About half of respondents said the government should rescind the law.
Author: Randy Thanthong-Knight