Facebook won't rule out blocking news in Canada if there was 'really no choice'

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When the Australian government passed a bill to force Google and Facebook to pay publishers for the news it surfaces on the platform, the latter tried to play hardball initially and took out all news content in the app for its Australian users. The company and the government have since worked out an agreement. But with the Canadian government thinking about passing similar legislation, we might see the same thing happening here.

Facebook Canada's head of policy, Kevin Chan, spoke before a parliamentary committee on Monday saying that if a law forces Facebook to pay publishers each time their news content is shared on the social network, it "fundamentally breaks the premise of how a free and open internet works."

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Facebook Journalism Project pledges an additional $8m to support Canadian journalism

Illustration by Carlos PX (http://payforlayers.com/)

Facebook has announced plans to invest an additional $8 million over the next three years to support the sustainability of Canada's news industry. The company's Journalism Project has invested over $10 million in partnerships and programs in the country over the last four years. The social network also plans to extend the Facebook-Canadian Press News Fellowship through to 2024. 

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Facebook's new TikTok-like app is for rappers

Facebook's R&D team, the NPE team, has a new app that brings TikTok features to an app targeted to aspiring rappers. Called BARS, it gives you a way to record rhymes while adding studio-quality vocal effects and beats. There are beats available in-app. If you want to write in the app, it can auto-suggest words that rhyme with what you're typing.

The app also has a Challenge mode, where you can wrap freestyle while using auto-suggested word cues.

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Facebook might be building its own smartwatch

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The next hardware that Facebook is reportedly building will be a smartwatch. According to a new report from The Information, the wearable will focus on health and messaging features. It'll supposedly make it easier to send messages on Facebook services like Messenger and WhatsApp. The smartwatch will apparently support cellular connection, so you don't need to have it tethered to a smartphone to work.

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