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August 29, 2023 7:22 pm  #1


Canadians Not Abandoning Facebook Despite News Ban

The ban on Canadian news on Facebook caused by Bill C-18's provisions hasn't seemed to affect Canadian users all that much. They're still frequenting the platform and seem mostly unperturbed by the battle between the feds and Meta - something I'm pretty sure the government won't be happy to hear. 

Facebook Userbase Is Apparently Unbothered by Canadian News Ban


 

 

August 29, 2023 7:32 pm  #2


Re: Canadians Not Abandoning Facebook Despite News Ban

Some don't rely on FB for news. Because they know that's imbecilic. 

Others do. They were, are and will always be imbeciles.

 

August 29, 2023 8:34 pm  #3


Re: Canadians Not Abandoning Facebook Despite News Ban

Chrisphen wrote:

Some don't rely on FB for news. Because they know that's imbecilic. 

Others do. They were, are and will always be imbeciles.

Social media can be a really great aggregator for news. The quality of your feed can be completely dependant on who you follow. Until recently, Twitter was my first stop to get up-to-date. 

 

August 29, 2023 11:00 pm  #4


Re: Canadians Not Abandoning Facebook Despite News Ban

RadioAaron wrote:

Chrisphen wrote:

Some don't rely on FB for news. Because they know that's imbecilic. 

Others do. They were, are and will always be imbeciles.

Social media can be a really great aggregator for news. The quality of your feed can be completely dependant on who you follow. Until recently, Twitter was my first stop to get up-to-date. 

But not Facebook.  If you only relied on Facebook for news, you'd know about every dog ever adopted, every celebrity death, and everyone selling a used pair of rollerblades in your city, and nothing else.

 

August 29, 2023 11:26 pm  #5


Re: Canadians Not Abandoning Facebook Despite News Ban

I’ll take No Shit for 500 Alex

 

August 29, 2023 11:34 pm  #6


Re: Canadians Not Abandoning Facebook Despite News Ban

I found it very convenient to see the latest news on Facebook from the sources I followed like CBC, CTV, Global etc... their sites posted beaking news that fell into my news feed on Facebook. Since it's not there anymore, I simply go find it myself at their web sites, so it's no big deal.. and I still use Facebook for connecting with friends and seeing adopted dogs. I think the government, while well intentioned...  is offside on this one. Facebook isn't publishing news it was being used by the news sources to publish their own news on the platform and now they can't.. 

Last edited by zed (August 29, 2023 11:35 pm)

 

August 30, 2023 7:02 am  #7


Re: Canadians Not Abandoning Facebook Despite News Ban

Most of the big newspapers and many broadcasters with big newsrooms are solidly in favour of Bill C-18, despite the fact they're now being blocked by Facebook. They see a big payday when the dispute is eventually resolved and they can't wait to get their mitts on that money. 

But not every publisher likes the idea. This is a major gripe put out by a local Mississauga neighbourhood news site that is not only adamantly against the law, it believes if left intact, it will put them out of business. 

Another side of a controversial argument you don't often see from a news provider and one of the strongest anti-C-18 editorials I've read yet. 

"While we understand the impetus behind the bill, we do not see the sharing of our content as exploitative on behalf of tech companies. They share links to our content and those links direct readers to our website. They carry the content, and we benefit from the traffic.

In our view, this is a tax on links that is hurting businesses like ours."

How Bill C-18 is killing local news and putting Canadians’ safety at risk

     Thread Starter
 

August 30, 2023 8:37 am  #8


Re: Canadians Not Abandoning Facebook Despite News Ban

RadioAaron wrote:

Chrisphen wrote:

Some don't rely on FB for news. Because they know that's imbecilic. 

Others do. They were, are and will always be imbeciles.

Social media can be a really great aggregator for news. The quality of your feed can be completely dependant on who you follow. Until recently, Twitter was my first stop to get up-to-date. 

Disaster and emergency management professionals have been vocal critics of the changes made to Twitter in recent months, which have made it much more difficult to provide the public and media with updated information.

https://www.avert.ca/from-blue-bird-to-black-swan-what-x-means-for-disaster-and-emergency-management/

 

 

August 30, 2023 10:51 am  #9


Re: Canadians Not Abandoning Facebook Despite News Ban

It's not going to be resolved. The bill has passed and gives no room for any kind of resolution that makes any kind of sense for Meta and likely also Google.

Meanwhile, the CRTC has said any arbitration that would happen should Meta decide it wants to participate wouldn't happen until 2025. That will probably be after a federal election, and if we end up with a conservative majority, which seems quite possible, the bill will be repealed.

But it will be too late for smaller, online local news sites. The government has completely f**ked them.

Last edited by RadioAaron (August 30, 2023 10:51 am)

 

September 1, 2023 7:32 pm  #10


Re: Canadians Not Abandoning Facebook Despite News Ban

The feds have released the amounts they expect the big guys to pay in compensation for using newspaper and other material online. But combined with a link tax, which has to be the worst way to do this since companies can never, ever prepare for a final amount every year, I can see why none of the giants will ever agree to this. 

"Government officials said that under the legislation Google could contribute $172 million a year and Facebook $62 million to Canadian news publishers, based on Google’s global search revenues and Meta’s Facebook global revenues."

And I fear they may just decide they can live without the Canadian market for good, take their toys and their web pages and go home. 

And the stubborn idiots in Ottawa who refuse to budge or even adjust this will ensure we all pay the price, while Google and Meta won't. I'm not saying they shouldn't pay for using the material. It's just this is the dumbest possible way to have arranged it and none of them will ever go along with it. And while I'm no fan of any of them, I frankly don't blame them.  

Ottawa puts price on what it wants Meta and Google to share with Canadian news publishers


 

     Thread Starter
 

September 1, 2023 7:44 pm  #11


Re: Canadians Not Abandoning Facebook Despite News Ban

RadioActive wrote:

The feds have released the amounts they expect the big guys to pay in compensation for using newspaper and other material online. But combined with a link tax, which has to be the worst way to do this since companies can never, ever prepare for a final amount every year, I can see why none of the giants will ever agree to this. 

"Government officials said that under the legislation Google could contribute $172 million a year and Facebook $62 million to Canadian news publishers, based on Google’s global search revenues and Meta’s Facebook global revenues."

And I fear they may just decide they can live without the Canadian market for good, take their toys and their web pages and go home. 

And the stubborn idiots in Ottawa who refuse to budge or even adjust this will ensure we all pay the price, while Google and Meta won't. I'm not saying they shouldn't pay for using the material. It's just this is the dumbest possible way to have arranged it and none of them will ever go along with it. And while I'm no fan of any of them, I frankly don't blame them.  

Ottawa puts price on what it wants Meta and Google to share with Canadian news publishers


 

You're 100% correct. (OK 99%, I disagree that Meta/Google are 'using the content')

CBC/Bell/Postmedia aren't going to see a cent.

 

 

September 1, 2023 8:13 pm  #12


Re: Canadians Not Abandoning Facebook Despite News Ban

I think what some are missing is that the public doesn't care.  Why are Canadians not abandoning Facebook despite the news ban?  That is because most Canadians don't use Facebook for news that much to begin with.  Google on the other hand is a little different story. 

However, this commotion with Meta is giving news organizations the perfect opportunity to promote their news websites. And guess what, they are.  Something they should have been doing anyway. 

Has anyone checked to see if the Globe and Mail, CBC, CTV, Toronto Star traffic is down much?  And if it was down weeks ago, what about now?  I am sure people that want news have figured out how to go to the various news sites directly.  In fact, most people already were. 

People want to really use Facebook for all the good and sadly bad things that the platform has been known for.  And that's why Canadians aren't abandoning Facebook, with or without Canadian news.