The British Columbia government has ceased advertising on Facebook and Instagram in order to protest Meta, the parent company that has blocked Canadian news from these social media platforms. Premier David Eby has expressed his disapproval of Meta’s decision to deprive many British Columbia residents of news access and deemed it “unacceptable”. Meta made the announcement to block Canadian news in response to the new federal Online News Act that was implemented on June 22, 2023, and will require digital giants like Meta and Google to negotiate and pay for the use of Canadian news content. Eby’s statement emphasizes that British Columbia wants to convey the importance of journalism as a crucial public service and stresses that news access should not be obstructed. Moving forward, British Columbia will only advertise on Meta for the purpose of disseminating critical information regarding public health and safety emergencies, like wildfire updates.