CBC/Radio-Canada is pausing ads on Facebook and Instagram in response to parent company Meta’s plans to block Canadian news content on the social media platforms in opposition to Bill C-18, also known as the Online News Act.

The pubcaster announced the decision in a statement issued Wednesday (July 5), noting that “access to news, a plurality of voices and a diversity of viewpoints are all cornerstones of a healthy democracy.”

Leon Mar, director, media relations and issues management, CBC/Radio-Canada, told Playback Daily that the pubcaster’s advertising on Facebook and Instagram “promoted our programming and services to Canadians, including independent productions, our news services, our streaming services, and our apps.”

“However, though we have paused our advertising purchases, we continue to publish content on both Facebook and Instagram to reach Canadians on the platforms they’re using,” he added.

CBC/Radio-Canada joins telecom and media company Quebecor, news media companies Torstar Corporation — the owner of the Toronto Star and Metroland Media Group — and Postmedia — owner of the National Post, Montreal Gazette and Toronto Sun among others — the federal government, the province of Quebec and several other media companies in halting ads.

“We join other Canadian media organizations that are calling for Canadians’ access to news — all news, from all outlets, both public and private — to be protected,” said CBC/Radio-Canada in its statement.

Quebecor, the parentco of TV channels TVA, TVA Sports, Yoopa and Moi&Cie and the streaming service Club illico, said in a statement that “any move by Meta to circumvent Canadian law, block news for its users or discriminate against Canadian media content on its platforms, through its algorithms or otherwise, cannot be tolerated.”

The Online News Act, created to ensure tech giants would share ad revenues with Canadian news outlets, received royal assent on June 22. That same day, Meta issued a statement “confirming that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada prior to the Online News Act (Bill C-18) taking effect.”

On June 29, Google announced it would also be removing “links to Canadian news from our Search, News and Discover products in Canada” when the law takes effect.

The removal of links to news content from platforms such as Google, Facebook and Instagram means the companies would not be subject to regulation under the Act, as it is designed to regulate platforms that “make news available to Canadians.”

CBC and Quebecor have not issued comment on whether they will be pulling ads from Google as well as of press time. Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez, however, said in a press conference on Wednesday that negotiations with Google were ongoing, noting that Meta “did not want to discuss or negotiate with news outlets.”

The federal government’s advertising spend on Facebook and Instagram came to $11.4 million from 2021 to 2022, which represents more than 50% of the government’s overall social media spend of $21.2 million, according to the government’s most recent advertising expenditure report. Rodriguez said ad dollars dedicated to Facebook and Instagram would be re-invested toward other platforms.

With files from Kelly Townsend and Media in Canada