A general view of the Church of Saint Simeon northwest of Aleppo, Syra, in 2023. The Byzantine-era church suffered destruction during the war and was further damaged in the February 2023 earthquake, which hit Turkey and Syria.
Facebook and Instagram are about to start blocking news for random Canadians
Meta is snapping back — with a move that has big implications for news outlets and social media users. In response to the potential passage of Bill C-18, or the Online News Act, Meta is preparing to launch a test strategy to block some Canadians from sharing and posting news content to Instagram and Facebook. The bill would force digital giants to enter deals with Canadian media publishers for directing their users to and sharing online news. Raisa Patel reports on what Canadians can expect from the test and why Meta is making the controversial move.
Word from Ottawa: The federal government has framed the bill as a step towards a more balanced relationship between news outlets and the digital platforms, which Ottawa says unfairly dominate the digital advertising market. Torstar supports the bill and has deals with Facebook and Instagram for news sharing.
Wait, what? A social media user selected for the test won’t be told in advance; they’ll only find out when they try to share news content on their profile and receive a notification telling them they cannot do so.
A Toronto mayoral campaign event was cancelled after a security threat
Six candidates were scheduled to face off for another mayoral debate Thursday night, but hours before the 7 p.m. event, some were already pulling out. Toronto police published a press release Thursday afternoon citing reports that a man in East York had “made threatening remarks about shooting Toronto mayoral candidates” and “brandished what appeared to be a firearm.” No candidates were present and no specific person was named, police said. The event was subsequently cancelled and organizers are considering rescheduling, Ben Spurr reports. Here’s what the candidates had to say about the “unsettling” incident.
More: “We want to reassure them [mayoral candidates] too that we have deployed resources to ensure their safety and they take the necessary steps that they must do to protect themselves as well,” Const. Alex Li said.
Go deeper: Although it is rare for death threats to directly affect an election campaign, local politicians and city staff in recent years have noted an increase in abusive comments and menacing behaviour towards public officials.
GTA home buyers are facing growing competition and climbing prices as new listings lag sales
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
As homebuyers adjust to high interest rates and jump back into the real estate market, sellers are still standing on the sidelines, Tess Kalinowski reports. The result has been a lack of listings heating up the competition and pushing prices up. Case in point? The average selling price of a home rose for the fourth consecutive month in May to nearly $1.2 million. Take a look at how the numbers have fluctuated and why the average price is expected to rise past last year’s benchmark.
By the numbers: Home sales increased by about 25 per cent year over year in May to more than 9,000, but new listings dropped 18.7 per cent in the same period.
Wait, what? “Over the last number of years people have gotten used to the fact, unfortunately, that there’s just not a lot of inventory in the market. So, if you don’t feel you’re going to be able to sell your home and then find another one that meets your needs, people tend to stay in place,” the real estate board’s chief market analyst said.
A general view of the Church of Saint Simeon northwest of Aleppo, Syra, in 2023. The Byzantine-era church suffered destruction during the war and was further damaged in the February 2023 earthquake, which hit Turkey and Syria.
