The parent company of Facebook and Instagram says it intends to remove news in Canada from those social media platforms within weeks.
Meta on Tuesday announced that it is in the process of moving forward with the changes as part of its response to federal legislation — Bill C-18, which is also known as the Online News Act.
"These changes start today, and will be implemented for all people accessing Facebook and Instagram in Canada over the course of the next few weeks," the company posted in a statement online.
The company said news publishers and broadcasters will no longer have content and news links viewable on Facebook and Instagram in the country, and users will not be able to post or share news content or audio-visual content produced by news outlets.
Meta said news outlets will be identified based on definitions and guidance in the legislation.
The company has also partnered to create a guide to help find credible online news sources.
The potential impacts of the changes for TBnewswatch, NWOnewswatch and SNnewswatch were discussed in an editor's note published last week. To stay connected to local news, go directly to the source by visiting our websites.