Meta Canada withdraws from the Commission on screens, the session is canceled

After several setbacks, the Special Commission on the Impacts of Screens and Social Media on the Health and Development of Youth (CSESJ) was finally scheduled to hear Meta Canada in Quebec next Monday. However, a company spokesperson confirmed to - that the digital giant would be conspicuous by its absence. The session was finally canceled Wednesday evening.

A communications advisor attached to the Special Commission, Béatrice Zacharie, initially stated that the Meta Canada public hearing [était] still on schedule for the session of November 25, 2024while the National Assembly did not seem to have been informed of the withdrawal of the Canadian subsidiary of the digital giant.

Wednesday evening, the National Assembly website was updated, indicating that the session scheduled for Monday was canceled. The institution did not immediately respond to a request from - on the link between this cancellation and Meta’s withdrawal.

Meta Canada will not comment on thisindicated a spokesperson for the company, parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

At the end of September, The Canadian Press revealed that TikTok Canada and Meta Canada were withdrawing from the Commission. A few days earlier, Instagram announced new tags for teenagers, and more control for parents on the platform.

The two social media giants were finally supposed to be heard at the end of October, but their hearing was postponed until November 25. The reasons for this postponement have not been revealed, with the National Assembly affirming that this falls under its internal management.

Et TikTok Canada?

TikTok Canada was also supposed to be present on Monday, but the subsidiary of ByteDance in the country withdrew from the schedule due to Ottawa’s order to liquidate this Canadian branch at the beginning of November, the federal government citing national security risks.

This is a good example of why we need a local TikTok team.

It is essential to have a local presence to respond effectively to regulators and to participate in issues important to Canadian users. We hope that the Commission shares this point of view and that it will convey this concern to its federal counterpartsadded, in a press release, a spokesperson for TikTok Canada.

An argument that Laurence Grondin-Robillard, doctoral student and associate professor at the School of Media at the University of Quebec in Montreal, refutes (UQAM) : We could have called someone else from TikTok or ByteDance. It’s already been seen. The ByteDance CEO had traveled from Singapore to the United States to speak in the House.

In the context where TikTok Canada is withdrawing, Meta has no advantage in going there, as all the attention would be on its platforms rather than being sharedbelieves the social media specialist. Before, the company lost nothing by telling herself that she was going to present herself to the Commission because TikTok, in any case, is worse and has less good press at the moment, she says.

After, Meta who removes all his news from Facebook and Instagram, who flees Bill C-18, and who, in addition, withdraws at the last minute from the Commission, shows to what extent they do not care the well-being of their Canadian and Quebec usersbelieves Laurence Grondin-Robillard.

The end of self-regulation called for

The Collectif Vital, an initiative of the Association for Public Health of Quebec, as well as the social organization Capsana, linked to the Montreal Heart Institute, have already been heard within the framework of this Special Commission, including work began in mid-September.

The two entities as well as organizations and various specialists related to youth health and screens wanted to take advantage of the presence of Meta and TikTok Canada to once again convey their message.

For them, self-regulation by web giants is not enough and the government must commit to regulating their practices.

They accuse these companies of continue their efforts to make their products ever more attractive, contributing to the growth of screen time.

Effective actions to protect the health and well-being of young people online are incompatible with the financial interests of digital giants. The government must be aware of this and regulate this industry.

Among the Collective’s recommendations to better regulate the practices of web giants, we include those to prohibit social network platforms from offering addictive feeds to minors, to restrict online advertisements based on their personal data and to facilitate the understanding the privacy settings and terms of use of their platforms.

Better supervision of influencer marketing, priority analysis of illicit or harmful content reported by trusted flaggers as well as the mandatory display on social networks and video games of prevention messages on health and well-being also appear in the recommendations.

The business model of the digital giants is a real obstacle to their commitment to better protect young people online. It is time that they fully assume their part in reducing the risks associated with the use of their products.insists the CEO of Capsana, Guy Desrosiers.

Made aware of Meta Canada’s intention not to appear at the Commission on Monday, Géna Casu, spokesperson for Collectif Vital, indicates that the company’s absence does not constitute an issue for [eux].

Our priority is clear: improve the health of our young people and not defend the economic interests of the industry.

For Laurence Grondin-Robillard, this whole situation shows once again that it is time to legislate and regulate social networks in Canada.