MONTRÉAL, Québec (CU)_Social media giant Facebook is currently exploring potential licensing agreements with Canadian media outlets, in order to expand its investment in local journalism initiatives, Reuters reported.
The move comes as the Canadian government prepares to introduce a new legislation in the coming months, that would make Facebook pay for news content. According to Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, Ottawa may adopt a model similar to that of Australia, or follow the example of France.
However, the Facebook’s view on the situation in Australia is believed to be unique. “You’re looking at a country that is by and large dominated by one large media conglomerate that has a very heavy influence on government and government policies,” Reuters quoted a source familiar with the matter.
The source, who is not authorised to speak about the matter publicly, said that discussions around licensing agreements in Canada are comparable to those Facebook obtained to use music in Instagram stories and reels.
Last week, Minister Guilbeault criticised the company’s decision to block all Australian news content on its service over proposed legislation requiring the firm, along with Google, to pay for news sourced from local media outlets. According to the Heritage Minister, the move would not deter Ottawa from crafting a similar legislation, which will be unveiled in the coming months.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday (Feb 24), Facebook announced that the company would raise its funding of news publishers to $1 billion over three years. This was following high level discussions held between Guilbeault and his Australian, French, German and Finnish counterparts, about working together in order to ensure fair compensation for publishers for their news content.
Advocates and experts from Canada’s news media industry have called on the government to introduce heavy regulations for tech companies, in order to compensate for the financial losses the industry has suffered in the years that Facebook and Google have been steadily gaining greater market shares of advertising.
