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Broadcasting - Staff Letter addressed to Dan Ball (Meta Platforms Inc.)

Ottawa, 25 November 2024

BY EMAIL

Dan Ball
Public Policy Director
Meta Platforms Inc.
1 Meta Way, Menlo Park, United States
danball@meta.com

Subject: Request for information regarding availability of news on Meta’s online platforms

Dear Dan Ball:

Following our previous letter, dated 4 October 2024, and your response dated 17 October 2024, this letter sets out additional questions (also called requests for information or RFIs) related to theOnline News Act (the Act) and the possible making available of news content on Meta’s online platforms in Canada.

To better understand the measures Meta has taken to remove access to news, Commission staff requests that Meta respond to the questions in Appendix 1, including providing any supporting information and relevant details, by 6 December 2024.

Please repeat each question when providing your answer.

To facilitate your answers, please refer to Online News Information Bulletin CRTC 2024-115 explaining how information is to be filed and how it is treated once received (see specifically paragraphs 4-9) and to Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-961.

In this regard, and as set out in subsection 55(1) of the Act and at paragraph 4 of Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-961, Meta may designate certain information as confidential at the time it is filed. Designating information as confidential requires a detailed explanation as to why that information falls into a category set out in subsection 55(1) of the Act and why its disclosure would not be in the public interest. This explanation must include the specific direct harm that would likely result from disclosure and why that outweighs the public interest in access to the information.

Furthermore, should Meta designate information as confidential, it must either file an abridged version of the document omitting only the information designated as confidential or provide reasons why an abridged version cannot be filed.

As explained in paragraph 8 of Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2010-961, the abridged version of a document must omit only that information which is designated confidential. Information that is not itself inherently sensitive should not be omitted from the document and the document should not be edited in a manner that makes it difficult to determine where or to what extent information has been omitted. Where abridged information has been omitted, the space occupied by the omitted material should be left blank and the symbol “#” should be inserted to alert the reader to the omission of abridged information.

For greater clarity, Commission staff note the questions posed below cannot be designated as confidential. Only Meta’s response, to the extent it includes confidential information, can be designated as confidential. 

Please note that this letter, including the questions posed, and, subject to any claims of confidentiality, Meta’s responses to the questions will be made available to the public and may form part of the public record of a Commission proceeding in the future.

If you require any additional information or have further questions, please feel free to contact us at radiodiffusion-broadcasting@crtc.gc.ca.

Sincerely,
Scott Shortliffe
Executive Director, Broadcasting

Appendix 1 – Questions for Meta

  1. Which, if any, of Meta’s platforms meet the revenue and traffic criteria set out in section 2 of the Online News Act Application and Exemption Regulations? 
  2. You have described measures Meta takes to remove access to news on its platforms in Canada. Please elaborate on these measures, addressing and explaining at least the following:
    1. Are any of these measures reflected in Meta’s Terms of Service or other publicly available policies to which its users are subject? 
    2. Does Meta have a review process that allows entities to challenge those measures? Please provide information on any review measures Meta has in place including any data on the number of requests for review received and the outcome of those reviews.
  1. Please describe in detail how Meta monitors whether or not news content appears to Canadian users on its platforms, notwithstanding the measures it has taken to remove news content. Please ensure your response addresses and explains at least the following:
    1. If Meta becomes aware of news content on its platforms, are there timelines or protocols for its removal? Does Meta take any other actions apart from removing the content?
    2. Does Meta use human or electronic means such as artificial intelligence to monitor for news content? Please explain how.
    3. Is a different process taken depending on the type of user that may have posted the content or the manner in which the content is posted (for example, as a direct link, sharing a screenshot of a news article, or through the purchase of advertising)? 
    4. Does Meta have any process relating to the reporting of news content by users?
    5. Are there internal measurements of the effectiveness of these measures? If so, provide the most recent figures available as well as any information required to understand those figures. 
    6. If something is identified as news content by Meta, describe any process Meta may have to notify the affected user and any process that may be available to the user or the source of the content to challenge the determination. If so, provide the most recent figures available on these processes.
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