Update: On August 1 Meta announced it had begun the process of ending news availability “for all people accessing Facebook and Instagram in Canada over the course of the next few weeks.” This includes blocking content published by both Canadian and international news outlets, according to the company. As of August 8, CPAC’s access to its own Facebook feed has been restricted.
OTTAWA, July 18, 2023 — Meta is trying to turn off your access to Canadian democracy.
As part of Meta’s ongoing attempts to block Canadian news in response to Bill C-18 (the federal Online News Act), users of Facebook and Instagram may now find it harder to access CPAC’s independent coverage of the people and events shaping Canada’s democracy. Canadians can continue to stay informed by bookmarking CPAC.ca on their web browser and following us on Twitter @CPAC_TV.
On Tuesday morning, CPAC staff lost access to the organization’s Instagram grid, which displayed a message stating that “[p]eople in Canada can’t see your content. This account is a news publication. Content from news publications can’t be viewed in Canada in response to Canadian government legislation.” As Meta is testing the news blocking feature across a number of media organizations, access for viewers may be intermittent across both Instagram and Facebook.
“At CPAC we are steadfast in our belief that Canadians are entitled to unfiltered access to their democracy on all platforms,” said CPAC President & CEO Christa Dickenson. “As big tech companies experiment with blocking news in Canada, we will continue to do everything we can to connect Canadians to our content via CPAC’s broadcast channel, website and on other social media outlets.”
About CPAC:
CPAC is an independent, not-for-profit, commercial-free, bilingual media organization that connects Canadians to the people and events that shape our democracy. Through our broadcast television channel, website, and social media platforms, CPAC provides unfiltered access to the complete proceedings of Canada’s Parliament, complemented by in-depth coverage of key events, processes and debates that shape the development of public policy in Canada. In so doing, CPAC is proud to provide Canadians from coast to coast to coast with a unique platform for informed citizenship and active democratic participation.
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For media inquiries, please contact Alyssa O’Dell, CPAC media and communications manager at 613-302-2841 or aodell@cpac.ca.
