Canada's Quebecor to pull its ads from Facebook, Instagram (updated)

COGECO

05/07/2023 17:45

(Adds Cogeco's move in paragraph 6)
       July 5 (Reuters) - Quebecor  QBRb.TO  said on Wednesday
it will pull its ads from Facebook and Instagram, following Meta
Platforms'  META.O  decision to stop access to news on the
platforms in Canada over a law requiring payments to local news
publishers.
    The "Online News Act", or House of Commons bill C-18,
introduced in April last year laid out rules to force companies
such as Meta and Alphabet-owned  GOOGL.O  Google to negotiate
commercial deals and pay news publishers for their content.
    Google and Meta previously said they would block access to
news articles in Canada if the legislation is passed.
    Quebecor, the telecoms operator which also owns media
outlets and newspapers, did not immediately respond to a request
for comment on how much it spends on advertisements on Facebook
and Instagram.
    Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    Cogeco, which owns and operates radio stations across
Quebec, also said on Wednesday that it has decided to withdraw
its advertising investments from Meta.
    Canada's media industry has called for tighter regulation of
internet giants to allow news businesses to recoup financial
losses suffered in the years that Facebook and Google gained a
greater share of the online advertising market.

 (Reporting by Tiyashi Datta and Samrhitha Arunasalam in
Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Shailesh Kuber)
 ((tiyashi.datta@thomsonreuters.com))