University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist called the consequences of Bill C-18 “predictable and a deliberate choice.” .“Government could have mandated contributions without invoking links, limited scope to exclude small and foreign sites from blocking or exempted some links,” tweeted Geist. .“Instead, it repeatedly cut off debate and ignored risks.”.MPs were told at committee about the likely Bill C-18 approach to links to emergency service information. There would be no blocking of links from government sources or any non-news outlet page. .Geist said the risks were “readily apparent, yet the government did nothing.”.He said the scope of news links is another choice. He added Bill C-18 creates liability for linking to any news content from any global source. .This includes thousands of news outlets which do not take media subsidies. It has led to widespread link blocking. .Geist concluded by saying politicians are pushing false narratives about addressing Bill C-18’s concerns. .“Most of the law was finalized months ago with predictable response,” he said. .Meta made good on threats to restrict access to news sites on July 18. .READ MORE: Meta begins throttling Canadian news outlets, including Western Standard.If people were trying to access The Western Standard on an iPhone, they might have received a message that read: “In response to Canadian government legislation, news content can’t be viewed in Canada.”.The restrictions appear to be selective at this point, depending on platform, device, and operating system..Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said on Friday Meta throttling news about the Canadian wildfires is “hurting access to vital information on Facebook and Instagram.”.READ MORE: Heritage minister says Meta blocking news jeopardizing Canada’s wildfire response.“We are calling on them to reinstate news sharing today for the safety of Canadians facing this emergency,” said St-Onge. .“We need more news right now, not less.”
