Canada’s public broadcaster, CBC/Radio-Canada, has issued a public statement blasting Meta for its decision to block Canadian news content on its Facebook and Instagram social media platforms in Canada, calling the decision “unjust” and “an abuse of their market power.”

In June, the Canadian parliament passed the Online News Act, which requires tech giants like Meta and Google to negotiate deals for news content.

Tech giants who have been able to use news content for free in their search engines and social media platforms to help build businesses valued at hundreds of billions of dollars have furiously attacked the law and threatened to remove news content rather than pay for it. Both Google and Meta have said they will remove the content.  

On August 1, Meta announced that it would begin a process to block Canadian news content from their Facebook and Instagram platforms in Canada. The changes are expected to roll out over the new few weeks. 

“Today we've begun the process of ending news availability in Canada. Changes will roll out over a few weeks,” a Meta spokesperson posted on the X (formerly Twitter) platform. “As we've always said, the law is based on a fundamentally flawed premise. And, regrettably, the only way we can reasonably comply is to end news availability in Canada.”

In response, the CBC said “this means that people in Canada who have come to rely on these platforms to find and access news and information about their country are now left with only unverified sources in their feeds. This problem is particularly acute in Canada’s North, for Francophones in minority language communities, and for people in rural communities who depend more on Facebook for news.” 

“Meta’s move to deny Canadians access to domestic sources of trusted news and verified information — especially at a time when Canadians are depending on it to stay safe from the harmful effects of unprecedented weather events across much of the country — is irresponsible and an abuse of their market power,” the CBC continued. “CBC/Radio-Canada joins all Canadian media organizations who are calling on Meta to act responsibly by restoring Canadians’ access to news — all news, from all outlets, both public and private — and by negotiating with Canadian media organizations to compensate them for their news content.”

In the U.S., legislation has been introduced in Congress and in California to force large tech companies like Google and Meta to pay for news content but have not been passed into law. 

MENLO PARK, Calif.—As expected, Meta has launched a new social media platform called Threads that will directly compete with Twitter. 

The new app, built by the Instagram teams at Meta, allows users to log in using their Instagram account. Posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length.

The launch comes at a time when Twitter has been under fire from users, advertisers and regulators for tech outages, unpopular changes in the way the platform works and concerns by advertisers that their marketing campaigns will be associated with misinformation and objectionable content. 

While some have called the new product a Twitter-killer, the launch will, at minimum, will produce the kind of intense competition in the social media space not seen in years. 

Unlike other Twitter-like platforms that have struggled to gain traction, Meta's new Threads platform would complement Meta’s Facebook and Instagram social media platforms and provide Meta with the ability to promote Threads to the billions of accounts currently using Facebook and Instagram.

To capitalize on that, Threads is very closely tied to Instagram. Users must have an Instagram to signup and the Threads user name is their Instagram handle. 

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that Threads achieved 10 million signups within seven hours of its launch. 

Meta began exploring the idea of launching a Twitter competitor last fall following problems at Twitter in the wake of Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition. 

Since then other social media platforms competing with Twitter have reported upticks in usage but none have come close to challenging Twitter’s reach of about 450 million users. 

Media researcher and financial analyst Brian Wieser, CFA and founder of Madison and Wall has argued that Meta's market power could allow it to succeed where others have failed.  

“Twitter’s self-imploding antics of the Elon Musk era and the failure of upstarts to capitalize on the situation should mean there is an opportunity for someone to capture significant consumer engagement and advertiser budgets from Twitter,” Wieser noted in a July 5 post. 

“While trust in Meta as a protector of data may be poor and while there are many, many reasons to have antipathy towards the parent company for consumers and advertisers alike, if anyone could take an existing base of producers of content to catalyze usage of such a product, Meta is very well-positioned,” Wieser said. 

One key issue will be addressing advertiser concerns about having their marketing campaigns associated with the objectionable misinformation and racist material that can be found on Twitter. 

If both Twitter under its new CEO Linda Yaccarino and Meta's new Threads platform can overcome those problems, Wieser argues that "this won’t necessarily be a zero-sum game: it’s very possible that a successful Threads could then lead to a vibrant and competitive sector for micro-blogging as a result.”

Others see Threads as a potential Twitter-killer. In an email to TV Tech, Luke Lintz, CEO of the digital marketing and social media company HighKey Enterprises argued that “"In the hyper competitive market of social media, Meta's launch of Threads could be the beginning of the end for Twitter. Not only will the new microblogging platform look and feel nearly identical to Twitter, it will be seamlessly connected to Instagram, which has more than 2.3 billion users and is growing.”

As previously reported, “[t]his could spell bad news for Twitter, which only has 450 million users and has lost more than 32 million users since Elon Musk bought it in 2022,” Lintz argued. “In March, Musk said revenue at Twitter had fallen by 50% over the past two years and it's not clear how it intends to bring those advertisers back.” 

In the announcement launching Threads, Meta said that "Instagram is where billions of people around the world connect over photos and videos. Our vision with Threads is to take what Instagram does best and expand that to text, creating a positive and creative space to express your ideas. Just like on Instagram, with Threads you can follow and connect with friends and creators who share your interests – including the people you follow on Instagram and beyond. And you can use our existing suite of safety and user controls."

More than a website, Instagram is becoming the go-to platform for creative portfolio work and giving potential customers a real look at who they might consider for their video project. The session “Instagram for Video Producers” will be presented at The Video Show, a two-day event in Washington, Dec. 4–5.

Today’s social media is all about engagement. Are you engaging correctly? Cinematographer Rob Adams will show you how Instagram's features can help you generate new leads, market your “storybrand” and give you an edge over your competition. He will share ways you can leverage Instagram to build your video business.

The Video Show caught up with Adams for just a minute ahead of the show.

The Video Show:What’s the most common misperception that people working in video may have about Instagram and how to use the platform for their business?

Rob Adams: This is a great question because I don’t think many people in the video business have given enough consideration to the power of Instagram overall, let alone form any misconceptions. However, I think the biggest misconception among those who have dabbled with Instagram is that, in terms of image professionals, Instagram is a platform for photographers. They couldn’t be more wrong.

Instagram, and Facebook for that matter, both favor video posts higher over still photo posts in their algorithms. They get more organic reach and better organize engagement than photo-only posts. That is, of course, how the algorithm is active at this point in time. That means these platforms are actually inclined more toward video posts.

Instagram and Facebook each have created video-only platforms with IGTV and Facebook Watch, respectively. Add in the fact that Instagram (and Facebook) Stories allow you to post 15-second videos in an endless string of vertical, temporary posts for instant reach, placement and tagging, and you have what it essentially is a video-centric platform. This creates boundless opportunities for business marketing and letting customers and clients see something video-wise about you and your product(s) 24/7.

TVS:You’ve done a great deal of work in weddings (and are speaking at The Video Show in a separate session on that theme). How has your work in weddings informed your work in other areas of video, and what can others learn from that?

RA: Filming and editing weddings and doing it well is one of the most under-rated, under-valued skills in all of video and filmmaking. Think about it this way: I have no script. I have no actors. No storyboard. I have minimal crew. I have no control over sets, lighting, sound and, most of all, I have zero control over time. And I still have to create an amazing product that people will spend thousands of dollars for.

This places me at a severe disadvantage in trying to create videos that have a Hollywood quality or even look like something more than a run-and-gun mess of footage. Where I’ve excelled in weddings at anticipating action, working and thinking quick on my feet with the deck stacked against me has made my scripted, storyboarded shoots so much easier. They’re a luxury. It’s also made me a far better editor. It’s one thing to be handed a bunch of amazing footage from a nicely scheduled, thoughtful shoot and have a plan for postproduction. But to have to take footage that essentially abides by an “It is what it is...” mentality, I’ve learned to edit sequences that are completely born in post, but surprisingly, work amazingly well in a creative context.

We have been able to formulize some things, but overall, you never know what you’re going to face with every shoot. Good wedding filmmakers have great insight into how to solve problems on-set, how to create beauty and drama where none exist and tend to be amazing storytellers. We also are forced to be people-pleasers and cannot sit back idly and wait for a director to call “Action!” In any business that is valuable knowledge and has helped me tremendously in my small- and large-scale commercial jobs. [Adams will also present the session “How Not to Screw Up a Wedding Video.”]

The Video Show will feature more than 100 sessions on nine presentation stages, as well as a dedicated screening room, demo areas, streaming studio and dynamic exhibit floor. Want to hear more about this topic? Visit thewebsiteto learn more and register.

NEW YORK—Instagram has taken over from Facebook as the top social media platform for TV engagement. According to ListenFirst's “State of Social TV” report, in 2017, Instagram overtook Facebook in engagement for the first time as organic reach of media posts on Facebook declined 40 percent and social-branded content outperformed all other TV posts by 42 percent.

"The growth of TV social audiences presented a new advertising opportunity in the form of branded content. So, naturally, Facebook's recent announcement about changes to its News Feed has put a lot of media companies on edge," said Jason Klein, co-founder and co-CEO, ListenFirst. 

"The unique insights in this report can help media companies better prepare for the Facebook changes to come, and also presents advertisers with a compelling reason for continuing to partner with media companies on social branded content.

Key points from the report include:

· Decline in Facebook organic reach does not mean less people see content from media properties: While Facebook organic reach declined by 40 percent in 2017, the number of people who saw a TV post organically declined by only 13 percent, meaning TV posts reached audiences beyond a TV page's fan base

· Instagram surpassed Facebook as the number one most engaging platform: Instagram grew 41 percent in engagement in 2017 while Facebook engagement declined by 25 percent

· Instagram's fan footprint across TV pages grew 11x from 2014 to 2017 topping 256 million followers, nearing Twitter's 283 million users

· Social engagement for streaming programs grew 13x from 2016-2017, while broadcast and cable programs grew by 6x and 5x, respectively, during the same period

· Social branded content published by TV pages outperformed non-branded content by an average 42 percent in 2017 and generated 9x more engagement than what an advertiser generated on its own page

This story first appeared on TV Technology's sister publication TVB Europe. 

STAMFORD, CONN.—Facebook and Instagram won’t be competing for medals, but they are getting in on the Olympics action as NBC Olympics has announced a partnership with the social media sites to provide unique content to fans. This will be the third straight Olympics that NBC has utilized Facebook, but the first to include the Facebook-owned Instagram.

NBC Olympics and Facebook will create a “Social Command Center” in Rio. The Command Center will capture Facebook Live content, including interviews with athletes and NBC Olympic commentators. Short-form videos will also be published on both Facebook and Instagram, including highlights and interviews. Tune-in information will also be provided to make viewers aware of events on NBC’s TV coverage.

Another feature of the partnership includes a daily recap video for U.S. Facebook users. A slow-motion video will also be published on Instagram daily, as well as share highlights and video through Instagram’s Search & Explore video channels.

NBC Olympics plans to incorporate Facebook and Instagram posts from many athletes, celebrities and news makers in its coverage. This will include Ryan Seacrest highlighting buzzed about content from the two platforms on his late night show each night.

The 2016 Summer Olympics will take place in Rio de Janeiro and go from Aug. 5-21. 

Read more about how broadcasters are covering the Rio Games at our Live@TheRioOlympics social media hub.