The latest report from Vividata report focuses on how Canadians are responding to Bill C-18, their feelings towards the bill and its effects on Canadian news media.
In August, Meta essentially ended the availability of Canadian news to local audiences by blocking it on their platforms. Since then, two in five adults have noticed a decrease in local news sources, while two in five have not noticed a change or are unsure. One in five adults say they did not use social media platforms for news in the first place.
Almost half (46%) of young adults 18 to 34 said they have noticed there is less up-to-date local news, while 45% have not noticed or are not sure. Those numbers drop in all older cohorts with 36% of 65-plus adults have noticed the decrease but 30% have not.
This could possibly be because half of all research participants (50%) 18-plus are not familiar with Bill C-18 and its implications for news outlets. Broken down by demo, roughly half of all major age groups said they are not “at all” familiar with Bill C-18: 47% of 18-to-34-year-olds; 54% of 35-to-49-year-olds and 47% of 50-to 64-year-olds. Of those over 65, 54% said Bill C-18 is unknown to them.
Younger adults seem to be most concerned about missing local news on Meta. While 40% of all respondents said they are concerned, a majority (54%) of those 18 to 34 expressed concern and one in three say they are “very concerned.” Younger Canadians were most reliant on local news on Meta and now report feeling less informed about local news and events. Those aged 50-plus were less reliant on Meta for news and are less affected by the removal of news.
Two in five adults are actively seeking local news from other platforms and in time this is expected to be good news for Canadian news media. Most say they are now getting their news directly from outlets, with 47% of all adults turning to TV news broadcasts; 41% to news websites and apps; 33% using local radio; and 31% choosing search engines. Other news media choices for all adult Canadians are print newspapers (20%), other social media platforms (14%) and community and neighbourhood forums and websites (12%).
The impact of Bill C-18 is clearly being felt by Canadian adults but 26% of survey participants said they believe it is a good thing and will have positive implications for local news outlets and help to foster their sustainability. On the other hand, nearly one-third (32%) are concerned that unintended consequences of the Bill could negatively affect access to local news.
Bill C-18 is scheduled to officially come into effect next month. The law will require major tech companies such as Google and Meta to compensate media outlets if they want to keep Canadian news content on their platforms.
