“Sylvain Poisson of Hebdos Quebec confidently said “they made those threats in Australia and elsewhere and every time they back down.””
Meta did not back down. Bill C-18 demanded payment for links, so Meta removed the links, along with existing deals and up to 30% of referral traffic for Canadian outlets. The small independents that need social reach lose the most. Ottawa now wants an ad boycott of Meta, and the Liberal party launched new Facebook ads the same week.