EDITORIAL – Facebook’s refusal to pause its war on Canada during wildfires is callous
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
A FORMER CONSERVATIVE POLITICIAN responded to a comment I made on Facebook a few days ago. In posting about a column I’d written, I said that since Facebook was waging war on Canada, I would be unable to post the link, and suggested they access it directly on the Internet.
This person objected to my characterization, saying, “I think it is important to note that the lack of a link is not a war launched by Facebook but a very poorly thought-out piece of legislation (C18) by our current federal government.”
I wonder what she’d think now, after Meta’s refusal to call a truce in order to help the fight against wildfires that are destroying homes and communities so close to us.
Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby are blasting Meta over its callous position. Trudeau said Facebook “is choosing to put corporate profits ahead of ensuring that local news organizations can get up-to-date information to Canadians.”
Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached atmrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
I think the government should not have enacted Bill C-18 in the first place. Was there consultation with smaller news outlets which will be hit hardest by the Meta ban? Did government consider the value of having Canadian news outlets all available on one platform as they were on fb, especially during crises such as we’re now facing? I expect not. The click-through rates on small media websites are lower now and some might not survive as they cannot monetize their own platforms. I doubt very much that advertising revenues will increase for Canadian news outlets as a result of Bill C-18 but am prepared to change my opinion should that be proved over the next 6 months or so.
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