Broadcasting - Staff Letter addressed to Dan Ball (Meta Platforms Inc.)
Ottawa, 7 November 2024
BY EMAIL
Dan Ball
Public Policy Director
Meta Platforms Inc.
1 Meta Way, Menlo Park, United States
danball@meta.com
Subject: Disclosure of information designated as confidential
Dear Dan Ball,
We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 28 October 2024, in which Meta explained its rationale for designating its response letter dated 17 October 2024 confidential in its entirety and submitted that it was not able to file an abridged version.
In that letter, Meta argued that:
- Its response letter contains sensitive commercial information, the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to result in significant harm; and
- It would not be in the public interest to disclose this information, as it describes the measures Meta has taken to restrict the availability of news, which could be used by users of its platforms to avoid these measures.
Consistent with the procedures set out in Online News Information Bulletin 2024-115 and Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin 2010-961, Commission staff hereby requests that Meta disclose the response letter of 17 October 2024.
Firstly, Commission staff does not consider that Meta has justified how its 17 October response letter falls into a category of information that can be designated as confidential under subsection 55(1) of the Online News Act. As noted in Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin 2010-961, generic statements that the release of information would result in harm to a company are not generally sufficient to justify a designation of confidentiality.
Further, even if the information would fall into such a category, Commission staff does not consider that Meta has justified how any specific, direct harm to Meta would outweigh the public interest in disclosure.
In this case, Commission staff considers that this information would be relevant to the administration of the Act and its regulations. In particular, it could allow for informed public comment on Meta’s practices and whether these practices implicate the Act, which would strongly serve the public interest.
In light of the above, Meta is to
- disclose the entirety of the response letter dated 17 October 2024 by filing a new copy of the letter without a confidentiality designation; or
- file a reply to this letter, in which case the Commission will consider all representations and determine whether the information is relevant to a matter before it and whether disclosure is in the public interest pursuant to paragraph 55(5)(a) of the Act.
Please disclose the information or file your reply by no later than 12 November 2024. In the circumstances, Commission staff considers that this will allow Meta sufficient time to formulate a response while ensuring that this important matter can be resolved in a timely fashion.
Regards,
Scott Shortliffe
Executive Director, Broadcasting
- Date modified: