Canada in talks with Meta on return of news to Facebook as CUSMA review nears

The federal government says its willingness to speak with Meta about the possibility of seeing online news return to Facebook is part of an ongoing conversation Canada is having with the digital giant as the review of CUSMA nears. 

“The door has always been open on our government’s side to discuss these issues. We’ve been having regular discussions with platforms since the Online News Act was developed. This is nothing new,” said Hermine Landry, press secretary to Culture Minister Mark Miller, who is not taking part in the CUSMA review. 

The Online News Act, which became law in 2023, requires tech giants like Google and Meta to pay media outlets for news content they share or otherwise repurpose on their platforms.

In the fall of 2023, Google and the federal government reached an agreement that saw Google continue to share Canadian news online in return for annual payments to news companies amounting to $100 million.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, decided to take the other route outlined in the Online News Act, and removed all news from its platforms to avoid paying fees to news outlets. 

CUSMA review and trade irritants

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told a congressional committee in December that along with a number of issues including the Online Streaming Act, improved dairy access and the provincial ban on the sale of U.S. alcohol, the Online News Act is a trade irritant because it treats U.S. companies unfairly.

Greer told the committee during his opening remarks that the review of CUSMA — which formally begins in July — “will depend on the successful resolution” of all these issues.

Landry told CBC News that Miller is well aware of the U.S. administration’s views when it comes to the online streaming and news acts and that Canada is “in ongoing discussions with Meta to find a path forward so Canadians can access news where they are, including online.”

The substance of those talks, which are being led by Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, will not be made public, Landry said. 

Miller told The Logic this week that Canada is willing to be “flexible” when it comes to the Online News Act but that the U.S. was not going to be given a free hand to dictate how that flexibility plays out. 

“The purpose of the act is still very much a live one,” he told The Logic. “We do have to protect news providers from the new reality that they’re operating in.”