The CRTC has asked Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, for clarification on whether Canadian news is still being made available on its platforms in Canada — despite the social media giant not paying to host Canadian news links, which is a violation of the Online News Act.
The commission previously asked Meta in October what measures it is taking to comply with the Act, and has now sent additional questions to the company in a follow-up letter dated Nov. 25 and addressed to Meta’s public policy director, Dan Ball.
“You have described measures Meta takes to remove access to news on its platforms in Canada,” said the letter signed by Scott Shortliffe, the CRTC’s executive director of broadcasting, who then asks Ball to elaborate on these measures.
“Are any of these measures reflected in Meta’s Terms of Service or other publicly available policies to which its users are subject?” Shortliffe’s letter asks. “Does Meta have a review process that allows entities to challenge those measures? Please provide information on any review measures Meta has in place including any data on the number of requests for review received and the outcome of those reviews.”
The letter also asks for a detailed description of how Meta monitors whether or not news content appears to Canadian users on its platforms “notwithstanding the measures it has taken to remove news content.”
“Does Meta use human or electronic means such as artificial intelligence to monitor for news content?” the letter asks. “If Meta becomes aware of news content on its platforms, are there timelines or protocols for its removal? Does Meta take any other actions apart from removing the content?”
The commission also wants to know if a different process is taken depending on the type of user who may have posted news content or the manner in which it is posted (as a direct link, sharing a screenshot of a news article, or through the purchase of advertising, for example). Furthermore, the letter asks if Meta has any process relating to the reporting of news content by users.
The letter also asks if Meta has internal measurements of the effectiveness of the measures it takes to remove news content, and if it does, to provide the most recent figures available.
“If something is identified as news content by Meta, describe any process Meta may have to notify the affected user and any process that may be available to the user or the source of the content to challenge the determination. If so, provide the most recent figures available on these processes,” the letter says.
The commission has given Meta until Dec. 6 to respond to its questions.
