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

Quebecor

05/07/2023 12:38

July 5 (Reuters) - Telecom and media firm 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 both the social media 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, 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.
    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 in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak
Dasgupta)
 ((tiyashi.datta@thomsonreuters.com))