Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez is hitting back at Meta, which owns Facebook, after the company did not rule out banning Canadians from viewing and sharing news on the social network.

The Liberal government introduced a bill earlier this month that would force digital giants to compensate news outlets for reusing their work.

Canada91裸聊视频檚 bill to support the news industry is modelled on a law in Australia, where Facebook introduced a temporary ban on viewing and sharing news on its site last year in protest of the draft legislation.

An executive from Meta Canada did not rule out a similar response here when pressed on the issue Tuesday at a parliamentary committee.

Rodriguez said, though Facebook could do it, he did not expect that would be popular with Canadians.

91裸聊视频淭hey made the same threat in Australia and at the end of the day they stayed,91裸聊视频� Rodriguez told reporters Wednesday ahead of the Liberal caucus meeting.

91裸聊视频淚t wasn91裸聊视频檛 well received by the Australian people and I don91裸聊视频檛 think it would be well received by the Canadian people.91裸聊视频�

Rodriguez added in French that the 91裸聊视频渢hreat is not making me work faster.91裸聊视频�

News Media Canada, which represents the country91裸聊视频檚 news industry, said: 91裸聊视频淭hose tactics didn91裸聊视频檛 work in Australia and they won91裸聊视频檛 work in Canada.

Meta Canada91裸聊视频檚 Rachel Curran was asked by a Conservative MP at the Commons public safety committee on Tuesday whether a ban like the one Facebook introduced in Australia is off the table in Canada.

91裸聊视频淲e are still looking at all of the options based on our evaluation of the legislation,91裸聊视频� Curran replied.

Curran also told the committee the company was 91裸聊视频渘ot consulted91裸聊视频� on the contents of the bill.

Rodriguez said this was not the case.

91裸聊视频淭hey lied,91裸聊视频� he told reporters.

91裸聊视频淔acebook yesterday in committee said they had not been consulted, which is not true,91裸聊视频� he said.

He said he had met Meta personally on Feb. 10 and that his staff spoke with the company regularly.

He said Meta had not seen the bill before it was tabled in the House of Commons, which is in line with parliamentary procedures, but they were consulted along with other platforms.

91裸聊视频淔or us, it is a simple principle. The door is open. We are ready to discuss,91裸聊视频� he said.

On Tuesday, Curran told the committee the tech giant was unaware of the 91裸聊视频渟cope91裸聊视频� of the legislation until it was tabled and that it had 91裸聊视频渟ome pretty serious concerns.91裸聊视频�

Curran said on Wednesday Meta had 91裸聊视频渁ccepted a phone call91裸聊视频� from Rodriguez91裸聊视频檚 office shortly before the bill was tabled, but was not consulted on the scope or substance of the bill.

91裸聊视频淢eta stands for evidence-based policy developed in response to how the internet actually works,91裸聊视频� Curran said in a statement. 91裸聊视频淲e look forward to engaging with the government, Parliament and Canadians once we have completed a detailed review of the proposed legislation to more fully understand what the bill entails.91裸聊视频�

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the NDP would support the Liberal government91裸聊视频檚 online news bill to 91裸聊视频渕ake sure web giants pay their fair share91裸聊视频� for reusing news.

91裸聊视频淔acebook will raise concerns because they don91裸聊视频檛 want to pay their fair share,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频� Marie Woolf, The Canadian Press