How is Meta’s news ban affecting communications amid Canada wildfires?

Meta began blocking news from appearing across its platforms in Canada in August 2023 after prolonged negotiations with the government over Canada’s new Online News Act. As Canada grapples with its worst ever wildfire season, thousands of Canadians could now be affected by a shortage of news content across Meta’s platforms. Meta started banning links to news articles on Facebook and Instagram in Canada in response to the new federal law requiring tech companies in the country to pay news publishers for using their content. The act was passed in June 2023 in an effort to ensure that technology companies negotiate commercial deals with news publishers for their content. Meta has described the legislation as “unworkable” and argued that the only way to comply with the law was to “end news availability for people in Canada”. With more than 200 fires burning across the Northwest Territories, officials have ordered 20,000 residents of the city of Yellowknife to evacuate, the first time such an order has been made for a Canadian capital. But residents of the city have said the lack of news links on Facebook and Instagram means accurate information about the wildfires and evacuation is hard to access on social media. Officials have said misinformation about the fires is rife on Facebook. They have encouraged people to tune into radio or local media live blogs for accurate updates.