If Google and Meta follow through on threats to bar news from users located in Canada, Seed World Group will continue to be the go-to source of seed and agriculture industry news — Canada-based users will just need to find us on platforms other than Google and Meta.
Tech giants Meta (Facebook and Instagram’s parent company) and Google may soon begin barring Canadian users’ access to all news posts — both Canadian and international. This action, which Meta has already begun to roll out to a portion of users, is in retaliation for the Canadian Government’s Bill C-18. The goal of Bill C-18, also known as the Online News Act, is to make major online platforms compensate news media organizations for the news content posted on their sites.
If Google and Meta follow through on their threats to eliminate all news content from their sites for users based in Canada, these users can rest assured Seed World Group will continue to be the one stop source of seed and agriculture industry news — Canada-based users will just need to find us on platforms other than Google and Meta.
What Should You Expect?
While the Canadian Government’s Bill C-18 won’t come into force until Dec. 23, 2023, Google and Meta have publicly announced their intention to ban news content over the coming days and weeks. Meta has already started implementing the changes.
This will impact Canadian news consumers in the following ways:
- Canadian news publishers’ links and content will no longer be visible to people located in Canada. This includes all media such as daily mainstream media and niche media including agricultural media like Seed World Group (Germination, Alberta Seed Guide, Spud Smart).
- International news outlets’ content will also not be viewable by people located in Canada, this includes Seed World Group international properties (Seed World and European Seed).
- Anyone located in Canada will no longer be able to view or share links to news content on Facebook and Instagram. This may mean you won’t be able to share articles, photos, weather warnings, videos, job postings, obituaries and other content published by news outlets.
Where can Canadians Find Seed Industry News?
While Meta and Google’s decision means those located in Canada may stop seeing our content on their Facebook feed, it doesn’t mean we have disappeared. Canadians will still be able to find all the stories and updates from Seed World Group properties by visiting our website homepages and our newsletters. They will also still be able to find us on our LinkedIn and X (previously Twitter) social media pages.
Our Seed World Group websites are available at the following links:
Seed World Group will continue to bring independent, breaking news and insightful stories from across Canada, the US and around the world. Access to journalism is a pillar of any healthy democracy and we will continue to be here for you, our readers.
