Meta begins process to end news access in Canada

Aug 1 (Reuters) – Meta Platforms (META.O) said on Tuesday it has begun the process to end access to news on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada. The decision is a fallout of a legislation passed by Canadian parliament that would force platforms like Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and Meta to negotiate commercial deals and pay Canadian news publishers for their content. Such a legislation is also part of a broader global trend to make tech firms pay for news. “As we’ve always said, the law is based on a fundamentally flawed premise. And, regrettably, the only way we can reasonably comply is to end news availability in Canada,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said on X social media platform, previously known as Twitter. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur