By Julieanne Acosta, August 30 2023—
Bill C-18, or the Online News Act came into effect in June of this year. The bill laid out a new framework that had been intended to support news stations. In short, the framework required digital tech giants — such as Google and Meta — to provide news publishers with compensation for sharing news content on their platforms.
The reason behind this? To help failing ad revenues and low subscriptions in news sites as those profits have over time shifted to Google and Meta.
Both Google and Meta rejected the framework and will move forward with blocking all news from Facebook, Instagram and Google. Canadians will no longer be able to view news articles and any other content (such as reels and stories) from publishers and broadcasters.
Although Google has yet to remove news sites from its Search, News and Discover, many news sites have already been blocked from Facebook and Instagram. This not only includes news stations such as CTV, CBC and Global News but also smaller-localized sites such as the Gauntlet and CJSW.
The Gauntlet’s Facebook and Instagram accounts have been flagged — making our accounts unavailable to access to Canadians. Despite this hit to journalism, the Gauntlet will continue to be present on social media, just in different ways. We will be utilizing platforms that remain open to us such as TikTok (@thegauntlet) and X/Twitter (@GauntletUofC). Nonetheless, our readers can always directly visit our website and pick up our physical copies around campus for news.
As the situation progresses, the Gauntlet will continue to adapt to the changes and we appreciate our readers’ continued support and patience throughout this time.
On behalf of the editorial board,
– Julieanne Acosta, Editor-In-Chief
