2023-07-06 16:21:15
After Quebecor, Cogeco, The Press, the Canadian government and that of Quebec, Hydro-Quebec and Loto-Quebec decided Thursday to also suspend their advertisements on Facebook and Instagram to protest against the threat of the web giant to block journalistic content.
• Read also: Common Front in Quebec and Ottawa against Meta
• Read also: News blocking: Quebecor, Cogeco and The Press cease their placements on Meta
“Hydro-Québec is suspending its placements on the Meta Facebook and Instragam platforms until further notice,” said Louis-Olivier Batty, strategic advisor at Hydro-Québec, in an email Thursday.
In doing so, Hydro-Québec becomes the second government corporation to take this action after the SAQ, which did so the day before first.
“We have suspended our ads on Facebook. We largely favor purchases from Quebec media and purchases on Facebook are marginal in comparison”, confirmed later to the Journal Renaud Dugas, spokesperson for Loto-Québec.
Over $6.7M in ads
Quebec had expressed the wish that its state companies cut the purchase of advertisements from Meta, but specified that it could not force them to do so.
Over the past five years, the Quebec government has spent more than $6.7 million on Facebook and Instagram ads, for an average of about $1.3 million annually.
By comparison, the federal government spent over $50 million on ads on these platforms during the same period.
On Wednesday, a vast mobilization was formed against Meta’s threats to block Canadian journalistic content on its platforms, while the federal government, the Quebec government as well as several cities and media decided to interrupt their placements with the internet giant.
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