As a Canadian, I find the current government's policy on the internet to be very 1990's. I fully support Google's and Meta's decision to remove Canadian news from their platforms. This is a complete "own-goal" by the government.
Ottawa pulls advertising, escalating showdown with Facebook and Instagram
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Re: Ottawa pulls advertising, escalating showdown with Facebook and Instagram
#12I'm not sure I'd want my government spending money on ads anyway.
The government needs to get out messages to its citizens. If ads on facebook is more cost effective than sending out mailers or whatever, why shouldn't they spend money on facebook ads?
Because it selectively reaches only Facebook users. So the government can begin tailoring messages to certain demographics, for maximum "effect".
Re: Ottawa pulls advertising, escalating showdown with Facebook and Instagram
#13> Facebook has decided to be unreasonable, irresponsible, and started blocking news. Are they acting unreasonably though? There is a product, and the government rules it has a price. Isn't Facebook allowed to go, sorry, I don't like that price?
If you analyze news as a product, it’s entirely reasonable for Facebook to refuse a price they don’t think is worth it. If you analyze news as something more like “a right to information” - “integral to the function of democracy”, as it was taught to me in school - then it does start to look unreasonable. The Canadian government is simply equivocating between these two analyses as it suits them (one could ask, if access to news is so important, whether it’s irresponsible and unreasonable for a government to try to charge a fee for it).
Re: Ottawa pulls advertising, escalating showdown with Facebook and Instagram
#14The TLDR of this issue:
Canadian govt: When someone posts a link to a news article on Facebook, that is like stealing from that news publisher.
Facebook: Your logic makes no sense, but okay, we will stop doing that.
Govt: No, we don't want you to stop posting the links, we want you to pay a fee every time someone posts a link.
Facebook: No thank you.
Govt: You're bullying us and behaving irresponsibly! We won't stand for it!
Re: Ottawa pulls advertising, escalating showdown with Facebook and Instagram
#15On the plus side, if Canada double down and lose it will set a strong global precedent against these rent-seeking laws.
Re: Ottawa pulls advertising, escalating showdown with Facebook and Instagram
#16> Facebook has decided to be unreasonable, irresponsible, and started blocking news. Are they acting unreasonably though? There is a product, and the government rules it has a price. Isn't Facebook allowed to go, sorry, I don't like that price?
No FB fan but yeah exactly.
Yet another confusing the definitions of "what is reasonable" and "what I think".
Re: Ottawa pulls advertising, escalating showdown with Facebook and Instagram
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
The government needs to get out messages to its citizens. If ads on facebook is more cost effective than sending out mailers or whatever, why shouldn't they spend money on facebook ads?
Who is living under a rock and not getting bombarded with political BS every second on FB but seeing FB ads from PBS? I'm just not sure that's a good forum for governments to try to get out a message.
If social media platforms can identify certain demographics, like those who smoke cigarettes, then why wouldn't the government use that to (e.g.) target 'Would you like help to quit smoking?' program availability ads to them?
* https://www.ontario.ca/page/support-quit-smoking
* https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/smoking-toba...
Re: Ottawa pulls advertising, escalating showdown with Facebook and Instagram
#18> Facebook has decided to be unreasonable, irresponsible, and started blocking news. Are they acting unreasonably though? There is a product, and the government rules it has a price. Isn't Facebook allowed to go, sorry, I don't like that price?
If you analyze news as a product, it’s entirely reasonable for Facebook to refuse a price they don’t think is worth it. If you analyze news as something more like “a right to information” - “integral to the function of democracy”, as it was taught to me in school - then it does start to look unreasonable. The Canadian government is simply equivocating between these two analyses as it suits them (one could ask, if acc…
> If you analyze news as something more like “a right to information” - “integral to the function of democracy”,
I don't get it - in this analysis would my local coffee shop have to buy and provide free newspapers to me?
I'm all for access to free press being a fundamental right. Where you lose me is the part where a private corporation is supposed to subsidize the production of news for me.
Re: Ottawa pulls advertising, escalating showdown with Facebook and Instagram
#19> Facebook has decided to be unreasonable, irresponsible, and started blocking news. Are they acting unreasonably though? There is a product, and the government rules it has a price. Isn't Facebook allowed to go, sorry, I don't like that price?
> Isn't Facebook allowed to go, sorry, I don't like that price?
It really depends on the laws involved. If the government decides Facebook accepting certain terms is the cost of business, then Facebook doesn't get a say in it. Kind of like taxes. If you want to operate in a country, you're taxed accordingly. In general, you don't get to not pay a tax just because you don't want to.
Basically, if the law allows, they can. Reasonability doesn't have a lot to do with things at the upper levels of government.
Re: Ottawa pulls advertising, escalating showdown with Facebook and Instagram
#20I'm not sure I'd want my government spending money on ads anyway.
Idk, if we could bring back the heritage minutes and the canadian house hippo, I'm all for it.