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A screengrab of what some Facebook users are seeing when they visit the CHAT TV page today.

Facebook begins blocking CHAT TV page

Aug 8, 2023 | 2:28 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Access to the CHAT TV Facebook page is being blocked for some of our readers.

When some readers attempt to access the page they are seeing a message that reads “No posts available” and another that reads “People in Canada can’t see this content. In response to Canadian government legislation, news content can’t be viewed in Canada.”

Last week, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said it would stop sharing news on its platforms in Canada. Today, news publishers and broadcasters called for an investigation into Meta’s action.

READ MORE: Editors Note: Prepare to lose access to local news on Facebook and Google

You can still access all the local, provincial, national and international news that matters to you free of charge.

There are a few simple steps you can take.

  • Visit chatnewstoday.ca directly through your web address bar.
  • Bookmark our website in your internet browser. That will allow you quick and direct access to the page instead of having to search for it in the future.
  • Download our free news app through Apple or Google Play.
  • Sign up for push notifications from our news portal or daily news bulletins via email (an option we’ll be sure to promote in the coming weeks)

Our newsrooms across western Canada strive to bring you the stories within our communities that matter most and that isn’t going to change.

The decision by Meta to restrict news content in Canada is in response to Canada’s Online News Act – formerly known as Bill C-18.

The new law calls for big tech companies to compensate media outlets and aims to make a more level playing field when it comes to online advertising – a revenue stream many of our local newsrooms within Pattison Media rely on, but which companies like Meta and Google monopolize. Google has said it will remove Canadian news links from its search engine.