B.C. pulling ads from Facebook and Instagram over Meta's Bill C-18 response

The B.C. government is joining other Canadian jurisdictions in pulling ads from Facebook and Instagram over the decision of the platforms' parent company Meta to block Canadian news.

“Local media creates much of the content that tech giants have relied on to build their business models, and many British Columbians now rely on social media to get their news," said Premier David Eby in a statement shared with CTV News Thursday.

"Meta’s decision to cut off that access is totally unacceptable."

Meta has said it plans to block links to Canadian news sites in response to Bill C-18, the federal government's Online News Act, which was passed late last month and is expected to take effect sometime in the next six months.

The legislation seeks to compel Meta and Google to compensate Canadian news outlets for their content when it appears on the tech giants' platforms.

Last week, in response to Meta's stated intention to block news content rather than pay for it, the federal government announced it would be suspending all advertising on Facebook and Instagram. 

While Google has also threatened to block Canadian news content, it has so far remained in negotiations on the implementation of the law and been spared from the federal government's ad ban. 

The Quebec government and Canadian publishers including the Toronto Star, CBC, Postmedia and Bell Media – the parent company of CTV News – among others, have also announced plans to stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram. 

When CTV News Vancouver asked the premier's office last week whether it would join Ottawa in cancelling its advertising on Meta platforms, a spokesperson said the province was "reviewing" the federal announcement and "keenly watching developments."

At that time, B.C. had three active paid advertising campaigns on social media channels, including Meta's, according to the premier's office. Those campaigns were: a wildfire information campaign, the B.C. Demographic Survey information campaign and a BC Parks campaign with two topics – parks-branded licence plates and updates to the reservation system.

In his statement Thursday, Eby said there would be a "limited exception" to B.C.'s cancellation of its Meta advertising campaigns for "critical health and safety information."

“During emergencies, we need to use all effective communications tools at our disposal," the premier said. "We will only advertise on Meta to provide the public with critical information related to public health and safety emergencies – especially as B.C. is experiencing one of the worst wildfire seasons on record.”

Eby said he hopes "to send a strong message to Meta that journalism is a vital public service and access to news should never be blocked."

Like the federal government, the province has not stopped advertising on Google platforms, but it says it will review and update its advertising policy "as the situation evolves."