Justin Trudeau fires red balls at Meta. As La Presse reports, the Canadian Prime Minister strongly criticized the parent company of Facebook and Instagram during a press briefing on Monday August 21. As tens of thousands of Canadians were urgently evacuated from areas affected by fierce fires three days earlier, Justin Trudeau pointed the finger at Meta blocking the delivery of national news to its Canadian users.
“They put their profits, the profits of their corporation, before the well-being and information for Canadians,” lamented the head of the Canadian government, while the future Canadian law on online information does not is supposed to come into force on December 1 next.
This law requires web giants to pay a fee to Canadian media for sharing news on their various platforms. This ban was criticized by members of the government last week, who called it reckless and irresponsible.
For his part, Meta replied by highlighting his efforts to bring important information to the Canadian public. “Canadians continue to use our technologies in large numbers to connect with their community and access trusted information, including content from official government agencies, emergency services and non-governmental organizations,” said testified a spokesperson for the platform.
Facebook has also enabled the “Safety Check” feature, which allows users to let people know they are safe following a natural disaster or crisis.
In Canada, some citizens fleeing wildfires have complained to national media that Meta’s blocking is preventing them from sharing important fire data. “It’s time we expected more from companies like Facebook, which earn billions of dollars on the backs of Canadians,” Justin Trudeau said again during his press briefing.
