The Guardian reported that on November 29 (local time), the Canadian government and Google reached an agreement to resolve disputes related to the Online News Act.
The agreement will allow news from Canadian media outlets to continue being shared on Google's platform. However, the Alphabet-owned company will have to pay CAD 100 million (approximately USD 73.6 million) annually to Canadian news organizations.
Google's headquarters are located in California, USA. (Photo: CNN)
“After weeks of productive discussions, I am pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Google on the implementation of Canada’s Online News Act,” said Canada’s Minister of Heritage Pascale St-Onge in a statement.
Kent Walker, Alphabet's president of global affairs, also announced: “Following discussions, we are pleased that the Government of Canada is committed to addressing our core issues with Proposition C-18. We will continue to send valuable traffic to Canadian publishers.”
The Online News Act, also known as Bill C-18, includes a provision requiring tech giants like Google and Meta to implement paid agreements with Canadian news providers for news content to be shared on their platforms.
The bill is currently being finalized by the Canadian government and is expected to be enacted before the December 19 deadline.
Besides Google, Meta also opposed the bill and blocked Canadian news on its social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram.
Ms. St-Onge said the agreement reached with Google shows the new law is effective and called on Meta to explain its decision to block news sharing in Canada.
According to a company statement, Meta's decision remains unchanged. "Unlike search engines, we do not actively source news from the internet to feed users, and we have long made it clear that the only way we can reasonably comply with the Online News Act is to cease providing news to people in Canada," a Meta spokesperson said.
Meta has made similar moves in the past. In 2021, Meta briefly blocked news from its platform in Australia after the country passed a law requiring tech companies to pay publishers for the use of their content. The company later reached an agreement with Australian publishers.
Flower Dance (Source: The Guardian)
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