Local podcaster gets booted from Instagram - because they are a news organization

By Pepper Parr

August 1st, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

Toronto Star reports that Meta, the conglomerate that owns Facebook and Instagram – the people who collect all kinds of information about you and then use that information to run advertising by you, says it is officially moving to end news access for Canadians on its Facebook and Instagram platforms.

The company says it is removing news for all Canadian users over the course of the next few weeks.

Meta was previously running a test that limited news for up to five per cent of its users, and now says it is moving out of the testing phase.

That means links to news articles and other content posted by Canadian publishers and broadcasters will no longer be viewable to people accessing the social-media platforms in Canada.

One source of news of significant interest to people in the 905 area is a podcast out of Hamilton that was told by Meta the information they were putting up on their Instagram page was no longer permitted because they were identified is as a news source.

Here is the way they explained what had happened:

“A few weeks ago, we received an alarming notification on our Instagram page. Meta would no longer be sharing our content in Canada, in retaliation against the Federal government’s Bill C-18.

“We had though that maybe we’d be too small to be affected by this move, however it turns out we were wrong. Instead we have found ourselves to be reduced to collateral damage in the fight between the federal government and two tech giants. So then, what are our options, and what can we do to protect ourselves going forward?”

Roland Tanner and Joel MacLeod broadcast their podcast frequently. This is not the place to comment on their content or the production values of what they do.
They have every right to broadcasting – for Meta to shut them out is just poor policy and the kind of thing that got the United States into the mess they are currently facing. Democracies need informed people. Shutting out a news source does more harm than good.

Google 905er and take a listen. Their situation is not a pretty story – something you want to concern yourself about