Media Ecosystem Observatory has released a data-driven examination of the impact of Meta’s news ban on Canadians and Canadian news media. It finds almost half of news media engagement has disappeared with Canadian news outlets losing 85% of their engagement on Facebook and Instagram. That loss has not been compensated for on other social media platforms, resulting in an overall decrease of 43% in engagement. The report says the ban has reshaped the media landscape in Canada, with 212 or approximately 30% of local news outlets in Canada previously active on social media now inactive. The observatory says less news is being consumed by Canadians overall, who are simply seeing less news online – an estimated reduction of 11 million views per day across Instagram and Facebook. The report finds consumers do not appear to be seeking news elsewhere.
Google has introduced an ad surcharge in response to the federal Digital Services Tax legislation. As of Oct. 1, a 2.5% Canada DST Fee will be added to invoices or statements for ads served in Canada. Google says the fees are being added to cover part of the cost of complying with the new legislation. Originally announced in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, it applies to big tech firms providing digital services such as e-commerce, social media and online advertising.
