A woman walks past the logo for Google at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai, Monday, Nov. 5, 2018. The head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce says a Liberal committee motion seeking internal documents from Google and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is "undemocratic." THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Ng Han Guan
OTTAWA – A parliamentary committee has decided to invite the testimony of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose company operates Facebook and Instagram.
The decision comes a week after the company announced it would block news on its social-media platforms if the Liberal government’s Online News Act passes in its current form.
The legislation, also known as Bill C-18, would require tech giants to pay Canadian media companies for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online.
The House of Commons heritage committee agreed today to summon Zuckerberg, the company’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, and the head of Meta Canada, Chris Saniga, to appear at an upcoming meeting.
The committee is requesting documents from Meta and Google, which recently blocked news access for some Canadian users to test out a possible response to Bill C-18.
And the committee also agreed today to undergo a new study about what it believes is the abuse of power of tech giants from around the world.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2023.
Meta funds a limited number of fellowships that support emerging journalists at The Canadian Press.
