Amid record-breaking wildfires in Canada, it’s important to get potentially life-saving information out as quickly as possible, right?
Not if you’re Meta, the technology giant behind Facebook and Instagram.
In Canada, Meta blocked local and national news instead of compensate media outlets whose content appears on its social media platforms.
After Canada passed the Online News Act — which would force tech companies to negotiate payments to media outlets that make up much of the “content” on social networks — Meta threw a fit and decided to turn off the news instead of comply.
In ordinary circumstances, that would be a terribly ham-fisted move sure to anger people who use Facebook and Instagram.
With wildfires raging and evacuation orders impacting multiple Canadian provinces, Meta’s hissy fit could actually kill people. (It wouldn’t be the first time Facebook killed people.)
Meta says not to worry, they’ll generously still let you visit government websites to find wildfire information.
The important thing to remember is, like it or not, many people use social media as their primary window to news and information.
It sure seems like a dumb (and intentionally cruel) idea to close that window as deadly wildfires breathe down people’s necks.
Unfortunately, we’re likely to see more news blocks and brinkmanship by Meta as places like California consider similar legislation.
The one silver lining may be that people could realize that bypassing Facebook all the time may not be such a bad thing after all.
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