Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C.'s premier urges Meta to allow news sharing in B.C. amid wildfire crisis

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 21 Aug, 2023 02:11 PM
  • B.C.'s premier urges Meta to allow news sharing in B.C. amid wildfire crisis

Premier David Eby is calling on the social media company Meta to reverse its decision to block Canadian news from being shared online in British Columbia, saying it feels like it is holding the province "ransom" in its ongoing spat with Ottawa.

Eby is imploring the company and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, to open up access to critical information that could help keep residents safe as the province grapples with devastating wildfires that have forced thousands of people from their homes.

He says the decision to permanently ban Canadian news on Facebook an Instragram is "incredibly frustrating" and he hopes "common sense prevails."

Meta's decision to block news came in response to Canada's Online News Act, which will require tech giants like Meta and Google to make deals with news publishers whose content they link to or repurpose on their platforms to compensate them for their work.

Meta showed an unwillingness to co-operate on a potential deal and decided to remove news content from its platforms in Canada instead.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed Eby's sentiments at an earlier news conference in Charlottetown, saying it is "inconceivable" that a company would put corporate interests and profits over people's safety during an emergency.

MORE National ARTICLES

7 infrastructure projects coming to BC

7 infrastructure projects coming to BC
A joint investment of more than 5.5-million-dollars will support work in Williams Lake, Prince George, Prince Rupert and Merritt. The projects involve improvements to the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex in Williams Lake as well as ventilation in four schools and a social housing complex in the northern region.

7 infrastructure projects coming to BC

Multiple boats stolen in Kelowna

Multiple boats stolen in Kelowna
Police are looking for witnesses after multiple boats were stolen from a locked campground in Kelowna. R-C-M-P say 14 boats were stolen between June 20th and 27th from McCurdy Place from within plain view of traffic on Highway 97.  

Multiple boats stolen in Kelowna

Searchers look for B.C. teen missing in provincial park since Tuesday

Searchers look for B.C. teen missing in provincial park since Tuesday
RCMP say 16-year-old Esther Wang from Langley, B.C., was part of a group of four people who were hiking in Golden Ears Provincial Park on Tuesday.  The group left a lookout point at about 2:45 p.m. to head back to their campground and about 15 minutes later they noticed that Wang was missing.

Searchers look for B.C. teen missing in provincial park since Tuesday

Sketch of an unidentified man released:VPD

Sketch of an unidentified man released:VPD
Vancouver Police have released a composite sketch of an unidentified man who died after being found in medical distress this spring. They say the man was found on the grounds of the Britannia Community Centre on March 24th and died later in hospital.  

Sketch of an unidentified man released:VPD

Student charged in University of Waterloo stabbing that injured three

Student charged in University of Waterloo stabbing that injured three
The violence that took place on the campus about 100 kilometres west of Toronto a day earlier left three people injured and many others expressing shock at what happened.  The stabbings sent a 38-year-old professor and two students – a 20-year-old woman and 19-year-old man – to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Student charged in University of Waterloo stabbing that injured three

Canada, allies head to international court over Iran's downing of Flight PS752

Canada, allies head to international court over Iran's downing of Flight PS752
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down the Ukrainian Airlines flight just minutes after takeoff on Jan. 8, 2020, killing all 176 people on board.  The passengers included 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents, along with others with ties to Canada.

Canada, allies head to international court over Iran's downing of Flight PS752