Do media aggregators have a duty to provide links to public news sources in emergencies?
Do media aggregators have a duty to provide links to public news sources in emergencies?
The NWT government and city of Yellowknife are describing in tweets, Instagram messages etc. how to search key evacuation information on CPAC and CBC. The broadcast carriers have a duty to carry emergency information, but Meta and X are blocking links.
While internet access is reportedly limited in Yellowknife, residents are finding this a barrier to getting current and accurate information. Even links to CBC radio are blocked.
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A fundamental question of the 21st century is, as internet media company replace legacy media companies, do they have the same responsibilities? Legacy media companies have the advantage they get to use a very limited piece of Canadian real-estate, that is the airwaves, and so the Government is in a good position to say "well if we're letting you use our airwaves, we need you to do something for us" and this includes CanCon, emergency broadcast, etc.
But now those "airwaves" are becoming increasingly abandoned and everything is digital and going over wires, wifi, and cellular to the international internet. But the above thing about "broadcast" was always a hack. It was a workaround for the fact that basically we need the loudest voices in Canada to also help Canada out.
And now we've lost that justification, but we still have the need.
Imho, the justification was always BS. If you have a massive media-org with a giant-ass megaphone in Canada, you've got responsibilities. I don't care if you're a website or a news channel or a dead tree paper.
Re; "we need the loudest voices in Canada to also help Canada out", speak for yourself. I'm tired of the loudest voices drowning out the reasonable ones. It's these same loud voices that have polarized society and tanked trust in the media as a whole.
C-18 is all about helping Canada's big media companies solidify their positions and inhibit innovative startups. Meta and Google helped level the playing field so they must be published.
Meta doesn't own a megaphone, though. It is but a lowly sharecropper who works the land of Microsoft, Google, and Apple. They let Meta use their megaphones sometimes, but only when it is on good behaviour.
It seems what you are really looking for is anyone with a voice to relay any important messages they hear.