Earlier this year, tech giants Google and Meta found themselves entangled in a Canadian showdown over the Bill C-18, also known as the Online News Act. This legislation sought to make the two companies pay for displaying links to news content, prompting Google to consider blocking news on its platform. The tussle has since come to a resolution, with Google and Canada reaching a mutual agreement.
Canada’s Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge took it to X to share the news.
Following constructive discussions, our government and Google have reached an agreement – they will contribute to the #OnlineNewsAct. We worked hard to make this possible.
This Act is good news for journalism, for online platforms, and for Canadians.
— Pascale St-Onge (@PascaleStOnge_) November 29, 2023
Additionally, instead of engaging in individual negotiations with publishers for payment, Google now has the option to collaborate with a single collective to distribute its contribution across all eligible news businesses based on the number of full-time equivalent journalists employed by those entities, as explained by Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge.
The Online News Act, part of a global movement holding internet giants accountable for news payment, was passed in June by the Canadian government. Regulations finalization is underway, with an expected release by the December 19 deadline.