The social media giant "Meta" confirmed that it will end access to news on its social media platforms for all Canadian users before Bill C-18, the Online News Act, comes into effect in Canada.

Meta announced this today, Thursday, following the Canadian Parliament's approval of Bill C-18. The law requires tech giants like Meta and Google to pay news outlets for publishing their journalistic content on social media platforms.

"We have repeatedly said that in order to comply with Bill C-18... content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will not be available to people accessing our platforms in Canada," Meta said in a press statement.

The bill is currently awaiting royal assent after being passed by both the House of Commons and the Senate.

In response to Meta's announcement, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said in a press release that after Bill C-18 receives royal assent, the federal government will begin a "regulatory and enforcement process."

He stated that Meta currently has no obligations under the new law.

A spokesperson for the minister also said his office held meetings with Facebook and Google this week. "We look forward to further discussions with the platforms," the spokesperson confirmed.

Meta had initially threatened, earlier this month, to cut off access to news content for Facebook and Instagram users in Canada, in reaction to the expected passage of Bill C-18 in the Canadian Parliament.

The company also said it was conducting tests on ending access to news for a small percentage of Canadians. It was reported that between 1% and 5% of the 24 million Canadians using Facebook or Instagram were affected by these tests.

Meta added that these tests are still ongoing.

"Changes affecting news content will not impact Meta’s products and services in Canada," the giant company said.

On June 7, shortly after Meta announced it would conduct these tests, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said bullying tactics will not work with his government.

"The fact that these internet giants prefer to block Canadians' access to local news rather than pay their fair share is a real problem, and now they are resorting to bullying tactics to try to achieve their goal. This will not succeed," Trudeau said.

As for Google, which said it is considering adopting the same approach to blocking news as Meta, it said today in a press release that it is trying to "avoid a result no one wants."

The company added that it continues to "urgently seek to work" with the Canadian government to find "a path forward."