Alphabet’s Google has struck a deal with the Canadian government to pay local publishers for featuring their news content on its platform. The settlement ends a standoff with the Canadian government, which was sparked by the implementation of the Online News Act in June. The tech giant will pay CAD100 million annually to support various Canadian news businesses, which includes independent news businesses and those from Indigenous and official-language minority communities.
Speaking to a House committee, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge called the agreement “historic” and a win for both the federal government and local news publishers. The deal comes after Google’s previous statement expressing its intentions to remove Canadian news links from search rather than make the required payments. However, the company has now agreed to negotiate with a single news collective and reduce its overall financial obligation.
Despite the settlement, Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook, is maintaining its opposition to payments, as it continues to block news links for Canadian users on its Facebook and Instagram apps.
The Online News Act, also known as Bill C-18, aimed to compel tech companies like Google and Meta Platforms to compensate news publishers for the news links posted on their platforms. This law was passed in reaction to the increasing reluctance of tech giants to share revenue with the news publishers whose content they feature. In response to the law, Meta Platforms took a different approach, blocking news links for Canadian users on Facebook and Instagram in August.
These developments reflect the ongoing challenge of regulating the relationship between tech giants and news publishers. The outcome of the Google-Canadian government dispute sets a significant precedent for other countries grappling with similar issues surrounding news content on digital platforms.
