Bill C-18—the Online News Act—received royal assent on June 22, 2023, and will take full effect by December 19, 2023. As many Indigenous communities are located in isolated regions, Meta’s ban on sharing news content due to Canada’s Bill C-18 makes it more difficult for such communities to access timely news reports. She referred to over 600 wildfires in the Northwest Territories and part of British Columbia—a region home to many Indigenous people. While Powless hopes that Meta will end its ban, the technology giant has taken steps to end news availability on its Canadian platforms. In response, the federal government has suspended all advertising on Facebook and Instagram from July onwards—when the government deemed Facebook uncooperative.
