By Denny Jacob

Torstar, owner of the Toronto Star and Metroland Media Group, said it would pause all advertising on Facebook and Instagram in response to their owner Meta Platforms' threat to ban access to news reports on its platform for Canadian users.

The news and media company said Meta's intention would block access to news from its publications.

"We vigorously object to Meta's unprecedented plans to block our content on its platforms in protest against the federal government's Online News Act," said Chief Executive Neil Oliver.

The decision is the latest development to stem from the battle between Canada's Liberal government and big digital platforms, most notably Meta and Alphabet-unit Google. Canada said Tuesday it would pull advertising on Meta's social media platforms.

Canada's parliament approved legislation about two weeks ago to compel digital platforms to compensate domestic media outlets for links to their articles. The law aims to provide media outlets with a financial lifeline to offset the loss of advertising revenue that has migrated to the digital sphere. If negotiations fail, the law calls for the two sides to enter binding arbitration to determine appropriate compensation.

Meta and Google have argued the law would put a price on free links to webpages, which contravenes copyright legislation and upends the concept of an open internet where users can search and connect to material without restrictions.

Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 06, 2023 17:44 ET (21:44 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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