Meta fixed a bug that prevented Canadian Threads users from accessing and sharing news on the app, even though news content was previously removed from Facebook and Instagram earlier this year. Threads users in Canada began seeing alerts suggesting they couldn’t view news content due to government legislation. It’s unclear how widespread the bug was or how long it lasted, with reports of the issue emerging on Monday and some users still unable to view links on Tuesday. Meta stated that the Online News Act doesn’t currently apply to Threads, but there’s speculation that news content could eventually be blocked on the app. Some tech companies have had disputes with countries over paying for news, with Facebook previously stopping news sharing in Australia and Google initially deciding to block news links in the country. Meta halted news on Facebook and Instagram in Canada due to the Online News Act, while Google eventually reached an agreement with the Canadian government to pay news organizations around $100 million annually. Threads users expressed concern about the potential impact of blocking news on the app, as it could make the platform less useful and impact publishers.
Temporary Bug Disrupted News Access for Canadian Users on Threads, Meta Confirms
