STATEMENT: Meta Promise to Censor News is an Affront to Democracy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 1, 2023
CONTACT: Ashley Woolheater,
WASHINGTON - Dr. Courtney Radsch, the director of the Center for Journalism and Liberty at the Open Markets Institute, released the following statement condemning Meta for threatening to remove access to news on Facebook and Instagram in response to a new Canadian law that would require the company to fairly compensate news publishers for the content they use and share:
“In Canada, in the U.S., and around the world, consensus is growing that tech giants like Facebook, Google and others must be forced to pay for the news content they use -- and from which they generate advertising dollars and value -- on their platforms.” Dr. Radsch said. “Meta’s response to being forced to pay publishers in Canada by cutting off users’ access to news will backfire since it underscores yet again what privacy, free speech, and democracy advocates worldwide have been warning: dominant internet platforms will continue to abuse their power and threaten our democratic institutions until governments, advocates, and competitors step in to stop them.”
Canada’s legislation is in line with a set of global principles for fair renumeration that were developed to guide policymakers around the world and represent the consensus of media experts around the world.
Center for Journalism and Liberty reporter Karina Montoya previously wrote about Facebook’s threat to remove news from Facebook and Instagram feeds in California in response to similar legislation in the state. Read “Big Tech Targets Democracy in California in Widening War Against News Bargaining Codes,” in our June 9th edition of The Corner newsletter.
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The Center for Journalism and Liberty at the Open Markets Institute is a team of journalists and researchers working to ensure that the news media of the United States and our democratic allies is fully independent and robustly funded in the 21st century’s digital economy. The Center’s work is guided by the belief that government plays a fundamental role in structuring news media markets and business models to ensure that neither the state nor any one or few private actors control the words or actions of reporters, editors and publishers. The center focuses on policy solutions with regard to privacy, platforms, business models, and content integrity.