The CRTC is asking for comments on new documents it added last week to the public record of the Local Independent Television Stations Group (LITS)’s February application that alleged Meta has been making LITS news available on its Facebook and Instagram platforms without paying for the content.
LITS has asked for Meta’s platforms to be added to the list of digital news intermediaries subject to the Online News Act and be required to enter into collective bargaining with LITS to ensure fair compensation.
In a letter dated April 24, the CRTC said it had received new materials related to LITS’s application after the record closed on March 30. On April 9, the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA), an intervener in the application, submitted a reply to interventions, which is not permitted under the CRTC’s rules of procedure, as only the applicant has the right to reply to interveners.
In addition, commission staff received a letter from Meta, dated April 16, as well as a letter from LITS, dated April 20. Meta’s letter said that LITS has no standing to bring the application and that Meta did not intend to take any further steps related to the application. Written in response, LITS’s letter said Meta’s letter was out of process but that LITS would not object to the letter being placed on the record.
The CRTC is now asking for parties to the proceeding to comment on this additional information on the public record. Specifically, the commission wants input on whether it should take the NCRA’s reply into account in its deliberations, despite procedural rules not providing for such replies. NCRA may respond to this call for comments.
Furthermore, the CRTC wants to know if it should take Meta’s April 16 letter and LITS’s April 20 letter into account in its deliberations, despite their late filings. Meta and LITS may respond to this request for comments.
And in light of the current proceeding, the CRTC said Meta may supplement its previous responses to the commission’s various requests for information issued between October 2024 and December 2025. Other parties may respond to this.
In all three matters, comments must be filed within 15 days and responses within 10 days of the due date for comments, the CRTC said in its April 24 letter.
