Old News, New Reality: A Year of Meta’s News Ban in Canada
August 1, 2024
As Canada marks one year since Meta’s unprecedented decision to block news access on Facebook and Instagram for Canadian users, the Media Ecosystem Observatory offers a data-driven examination of the ban’s impact on Canadians and Canadian news media.
Meta’s Canadian news ban: one year in, there’s a dramatic decline in news reach and social media presence with minimal public awareness
On August 1, 2023, in response to Bill C-18, Meta blocked Canadians from viewing, accessing, and sharing news article links on its platforms. Over the past 12 months, our team of researchers has closely monitored the effects of the ban particularly on Canadian news organizations and how Canadians engage with news and political content online.
“Old News, New Reality: A Year of Meta’s News Ban in Canada” is the first data-informed analysis on what happened in Canada after Meta banned access to news on its platforms for Canadians. Our researchers found that the decision to block Canadian users from seeing news on two of our most prevalent social media platforms shifted the flow of information online and the relationship between the news, social media, and Canadians.
“Nearly half of the reach of Canadian news on social media disappeared overnight after the ban and 200 news outlets went completely dark on socials,” said Aengus Bridgman, Director of the Media Ecosystem Observatory, “and equally concerning is that Canadians barely noticed.”
Executive summary
As Canada marks one year since Meta’s unprecedented decision to block news access on Facebook and Instagram for Canadian users, the Media Ecosystem Observatory offers a data-driven examination of the ban’s impact on Canadians and Canadian news media. Using survey and social media data, we evaluate the extent to which the ban has shaped the character of online news in Canada and changed the behaviour of news producers and consumers.
Key takeaways:
Almost half of news media engagement has disappeared – Canadian news outlets have lost 85% of their engagement on Facebook and Instagram. This loss has not been compensated by increases on other social media platforms, resulting in an overall decrease of 43% in engagement.
Almost one third of local news outlets are now inactive – The ban has reshaped the media landscape in Canada, with 212 or approximately 30% of local news outlets in Canada previously active on social media now inactive.
Three quarters of the Canadian public is unaware of the ban – Only 22% of Canadians know that news is banned on Facebook and Instagram. Even among users of the platforms and those who say they get news from the platform, a majority do not know about the ban.
News is still being shared on Facebook and Instagram – Despite the ban, news organization content is still available on Meta platforms through work-around strategies like screengrabs, with 36% of Canadian users reporting encountering news or links to news on Facebook or Instagram. This arguably should make Meta subject to the requirements of the Online News Act.
Less news is being consumed by Canadians – Overall, Canadians are simply seeing less news online – an estimated reduction of 11 million views per day across Instagram and Facebook – due to the ban. Canadians continue to learn about politics and current events through Facebook and Instagram, but through a more biased and less factual lens than before and many Canadians do not even realize the shift has occurred. They do not appear to be seeking news elsewhere.
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