OTTAWA: Canada’s government said Wednesday it would stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram, in response to Meta’s decision to block access to news content on their social platforms as part of a temporary test.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government’s decision at a news conference.
Canada’s move is the latest episode in a dispute that started after Trudeau’s administration proposed a bill that would require technology companies to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online.
Meta promised at the time to block Canadian news content on its Facebook and Instagram platforms to address Canada’s recently passed Online News Act.
Rodriguez said the decision from Meta was “unreasonable” and “irresponsible,” and as a result Canada would stop advertising on their platforms.
He said the federal government spends about 10 million Canadian dollars (around $7.5 million) a year to advertise on the platforms. This money, he added, will be put into other ad campaigns.
Soon after the federal announcement, Quebec Premier Francois Legault tweeted that the province was also suspending advertising on Facebook and Instagram, and Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said on Twitter that the city would stop ads on Facebook.
Reacting to the latest Canadian announcement, a Meta spokesperson said the Online News Act is “flawed legislation that ignores the realities of how our platforms work.” He said that the company does not collect links to news content to show on their social platforms and that publishers are the ones deciding to post them on Facebook or Instagram.
“Unfortunately, the regulatory process is not equipped to make changes to the fundamental features of the legislation that have always been problematic, and so we plan to comply by ending news availability in Canada in the coming weeks,” the spokesperson said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.
Google has also promised to start blocking Canadian news when the bill takes effect in six months.
Rodriguez said the government is in talks with the company and believes its concerns will be managed by the regulations that will come to implement the bill.
Canada’s government to stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram after Meta says it will block news
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Canada’s government to stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram after Meta says it will block news
- Federal government spends around $7.5 million a year to advertise on the platforms
- Canada’s move is the latest episode in dispute over recently passed Online News Act
Paris exhibition marks 200 years of Le Figaro and the enduring power of the press
- The exhibition celebrated the bicentennial of Le Figaro, offering visitors a rare opportunity to step inside the newspaper’s vast historical archive
PARIS: One of France’s most influential newspapers marked a major milestone this month with a landmark exhibition beneath the soaring glass nave of the Grand Palais, tracing two centuries of journalism, literature and political debate.
Titled 1826–2026: 200 years of freedom, the exhibition celebrated the bicentennial of Le Figaro, offering visitors a rare opportunity to step inside the newspaper’s vast historical archive. Held over three days in mid-January, the free exhibition drew large crowds eager to explore how the title has both chronicled and shaped modern French history.
More than 300 original items were displayed, including historic front pages, photographs, illustrations and handwritten manuscripts. Together, they charted Le Figaro’s evolution from a 19th-century satirical publication into a leading national daily, reflecting eras of revolution, war, cultural change and technological disruption.
The exhibition unfolded across a series of thematic spaces, guiding visitors through defining moments in the paper’s past — from its literary golden age to its role in political debate and its transition into the digital era. Particular attention was paid to the newspaper’s long association with prominent writers and intellectuals, underscoring the close relationship between journalism and cultural life in France.
Beyond the displays, the program extended into live journalism. Public editorial meetings, panel discussions and film screenings invited audiences to engage directly with editors, writers and media figures, turning the exhibition into a forum for debate about the future of the press and freedom of expression.
Hosted at the Grand Palais, the setting itself reinforced the exhibition’s ambition: to place journalism firmly within the country’s cultural heritage. While the exhibition has now concluded, the bicentennial celebrations continue through special publications and broadcasts, reaffirming Le Figaro’s place in France’s public life — and the enduring relevance of a free and questioning press in an age of rapid change.
