Even if it restores news on social media, a deal with the U.S. cannot cost Canada its digital sovereignty

Hannah Alper was the deputy editor of the Western Gazette, and is a Toronto-based journalist. I was in my fourth year at Western University and very involved in the student newspaper, the Western Gazette, when the Trudeau government passed the Online News Act in 2023. This was the Canadian law requiring tech giants to pay outlets for hosting their news. It was a well-intentioned attempt to save Canadian journalism. And indeed, Google agreed to a $100-million annual payout to help sustain media outlets across the country. But in response, Meta decided to simply block news content altogether from Instagram and Facebook for Canadians. We've heard how the Online News Act has affected legacy newsrooms, and it has certainly hampered publications' ability to get credible and trusted information to as many eyes as possible. But it also makes it disproportionately harder for people to find local journalism and student-run papers – and for them to operate, as a result. When the Gazette's Instagram account effectively got shut down, we had fewer than 10,000 followers. But it was a harsh blow all the same, making it more difficult to reach a generation of digital natives. A 2023 survey found that 85 per cent of Gen Z respondents in Canada reported looking for Canadian news on social media rather than traditional news platforms; other studies and surveys have shown that people under 30 are moving toward a social-first media diet. Like every other credible outlet in Canada, the Gazette couldn't meet young people where they are. The reality is that my Gen Z peers are still getting their news on social media – just mostly not from outlets that care about fact-checking and journalistic integrity. It has made consumers more susceptible to AI slop, misinformation and non-reputable, non-credible sources. Tech experts worry that Canada could concede on digital sovereignty in trade talks One of the biggest bargaining chips that the Canadian government seemed willing to trade – at least until talks broke down – wasn't lumber or steel, but what U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer described as 'digital trade alignment.' Reportedly, this could have included tearing down legislation such as the Digital Safety Act, which promises to ban social media for kids under 16; the Online Streaming Act, which requires services such as Netflix to promote Canadian shows and commit a portion of revenue to funding local media; and the Online News Act, which Washington views as the unfair targeting of American tech companies. In January, there were reports that Ottawa was negotiating with Meta, and a trade deal featuring 'digital trade alignment' could have, ostensibly, restored news to its platforms. But Canada's digital sovereignty would represent a far worse loss than any gain realized by the return of news on social media. As Vass Bednar, the managing director of the Canadian Shield Institute, wrote, 'If Prime Minister Carney is trading away our ability to govern the digital realm … then we are locking in a permanent state of subordination.' This isn't the first time we've lost our ability to set our own digital policy at the hands of the Trump administration. In 2025, Canada repealed its digital services tax to help advance trade negotiations with the U.S. Amid trade talks this year, Mark Carney's government asked the CRTC to remove the requirement that streamers support Canadian entertainment and culture through the hiring of local production companies, which helps create work for thousands of Canadians. Opinion: Can Canada ever have true digital sovereignty? An uninformed electorate is a failure of a society. When people are not informed, they don't care. And when they don't care, change doesn't happen. Right now, we really need Canadians to care. But we will not achieve it by bowing to the U.S. and dismantling our efforts to rein in Big Tech. Cultural-sector organizations in Canada have said that the collapse of trade talks could reset conversations with American streamers. I would hope that this also creates pressure to bring tech companies back to the table to find a solution that helps Canadian journalism, the people who consume it and those who want to work in the industry. It is not clear what the long-term solution is to the financial crisis many news outlets face, and it's been disheartening to see one round of layoffs after another hit these institutions. The consolidation and homogenization of news won't stop as long as the Online News Act as written is in place, hurting smaller publications more than big ones. But I do know that Canada should not remain under the thumb of Big Tech, and our digital sovereignty cannot be a bargaining chip.