I hit my first instance of Meta blocking Canadian news content.
Rachael sent me a story from #CBCVancouver via Instagram messages.
The thumbnail is visible in messages (1), but when I click, I get the restricted message (2)
I wasn’t following the CBCVancouver account, and when I search for and visit the profile, I get a different message (3)
I guess Rachael hasn’t had this rolled out to her account yet.
Remember, there are no good guys in this #BillC18 debacle.
I think this is a nuanced situation. On one hand, the government let this slide for a long time, and too many people became reliant on Facebook for their news. I believe it’s very important for people to have the ability to be informed on the world around them. We should be spreading awareness about these things for people who apparently forgot.
On the other hand, it’s Facebook. Facebook is also not exactly known for being unbaised or truthful. Provably false things have no business being passed off as news, regardless of what side of the coin you’re on. Information is power. We deserve the truth.
We can still use news websites, news apps, FOSS sites like lemmy, the newspaper, watch the news on TV stations, etc. Why are so many people acting like this is the end of all free information? It it really that difficult for people to find another source? I can almost guarantee that you can list 4 or 5 news outlets from the top of your head. If you visit their pages, they will still get their ad revenue. They never got that revenue before because of Facebook.
It’s also another situation where people expect other people’s labour for free. It’s becoming grating. Why are we defending a billion dollar company expecting this from small local companies? Journalists have to eat, too. If it was an easy, time-relaxed job, everyone would be a journalist. It’s almost irritating that so many people expect them to permanently lose out on their hard earned money for the sake of saving people the effort of a few different clicks.
Where is any of this anger or frustration towards Meta, the billion dollar company that refuses to pay for these articles? Meta could have negotiated, but decided to just shut it down instead. Why are we cheering on a profiteering company from the US over our own local news sources?
Some people will argue “they’ll get less clicks now”, but I’d argue that many of those clicks just sent people through an amp-website that mainly benefitted Meta. I’m kind of suprised to see these posts on a FOSS- heavy community, to be honest. I though not having one corporate overlord was kind of the whole point.
I would honestly recommend for anyone in another country to also use another source for news. Think about it, what would you do if Facebook stopped it all tomorrow, or shut down entirely? Would you still have access to information about the world around you to the extent that you do now?
Should you trust Facebook that much?
The big picture might be nuanced, but link taxes aren’t. They’re a ridiculous way to try and solve a problem.
Would it be fair to charge a phonebook for listing the mailing address of a business/person? No. Mailing addresses are just bits of information that describe where to find something. Same with links.
If a business wants to make money from people going to their physical location, they stop you at the door and ask for a ticket. They don’t go after phonebooks for telling people where they’re located.