Update 19/12/2023 5:06pm ET: Meta has stated a bug was behind the lack of news access for Threads users in Canada.
“We identified and fixed a bug that temporarily impacted the availability of some news content for some people using Threads in Canada,” a Meta spokesperson told MobileSyrup.
“Pursuant to the Online News Act and the final regulations for that Act, the Online News Act’s framework does not presently apply to Threads.”
The tech company refused to share specifics but did state that all Canadians should have access to news articles on the platform.
The original article continues below:
Meta has started blocking Canadians from accessing news content on Threads.
Some have taken to the platform to share they’re redirected to a page with the text “content from news publications can’t be viewed in Canada in response to Canadian government legislation.”
At this time, some users still have the ability to access news content. However, this may soon change.
Threads wasn’t previously part of the tech giant’s response to the Online News Act (Bill C-18). The action was reserved for Facebook and Instagram when Meta started to pull news access in August.
The change to Threads comes just days after the federal government released the act’s final regulatory framework. The act subjects certain platforms distributing news content to pay publishers for sharing their work. At this time, Google and Meta are the only two platforms subjected to the act.
Google agreed to contribute $100 million to the framework, but Meta has remained steadfast in its position.
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