Canada's online news law targets Facebook and Google
New Canadian law will require tech companies to license news content. The Facebook owner has said he will remove news from the platform.
Canadian Parliament has passed a law that will force tech companies to pay national media for links to their articles, prompting the owner of Facebook and Instagram to say he would remove news articles from both platforms in the country.
Law , passed on Thursday, is the latest salvo in a push by governments around the world to force big companies like Google and Facebook to pay for the information they share on their platforms - a campaign the companies have all but resisted. every turn.
With some caveats, the new Canadian law would force search engines and social media companies to engage in a process of negotiation – and binding arbitration, if necessary - to license news content for use.
The law, the Online News Act, is modeled after a similar adopted in Australia two years ago. It was designed to “enhance fairness in the Canadian digital news market and contribute to its sustainability,” according to an official summary. Exactly when the law would take effect was not immediately clear Friday morning.
Proponents of the legislation see it as a victory for the news media, so what they're fighting to do for the drop in ad revenue she attributes to Silicon Valley companies cornering the online advertising market.
"A press strong, independent and free is fundamental to our democracy," Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, wrote on Twitter late Thursday. "The Online News Act will help ensure that tech giants negotiate fair and equitable deals with news outlets."
Tech companies feel differently.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, previously warned lawmakers that it would stop making information available on both platforms to Canadian users if legislation was adopted. The company said it now plans to do just that.
"We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18, passed today in Parliament, content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be accessible to people accessing our platforms in Canada,” Meta said in a statement.
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">He added that changes affecting news content would not impact other products and services used for fact-checking, social connections and business growth.In a separate statement, a Google spokeswoman criticized the legislation as "unworkable" and said the company had offered "thoughtful and pragmatic solutions" to improve it.
Google told Canadian lawmakers in May that debate over the legislation has created unrealistic expectations among politicians and news publishers of " an unlimited subsidy for the Canadian media”. Among other changes, Google suggested requiring tech companies to pay to "view" news content, not to link to it.
New Canadian law will require tech companies to license news content. The Facebook owner has said he will remove news from the platform.
Canadian Parliament has passed a law that will force tech companies to pay national media for links to their articles, prompting the owner of Facebook and Instagram to say he would remove news articles from both platforms in the country.
Law , passed on Thursday, is the latest salvo in a push by governments around the world to force big companies like Google and Facebook to pay for the information they share on their platforms - a campaign the companies have all but resisted. every turn.
With some caveats, the new Canadian law would force search engines and social media companies to engage in a process of negotiation – and binding arbitration, if necessary - to license news content for use.
The law, the Online News Act, is modeled after a similar adopted in Australia two years ago. It was designed to “enhance fairness in the Canadian digital news market and contribute to its sustainability,” according to an official summary. Exactly when the law would take effect was not immediately clear Friday morning.
Proponents of the legislation see it as a victory for the news media, so what they're fighting to do for the drop in ad revenue she attributes to Silicon Valley companies cornering the online advertising market.
"A press strong, independent and free is fundamental to our democracy," Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, wrote on Twitter late Thursday. "The Online News Act will help ensure that tech giants negotiate fair and equitable deals with news outlets."
Tech companies feel differently.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, previously warned lawmakers that it would stop making information available on both platforms to Canadian users if legislation was adopted. The company said it now plans to do just that.
"We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18, passed today in Parliament, content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be accessible to people accessing our platforms in Canada,” Meta said in a statement.
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">He added that changes affecting news content would not impact other products and services used for fact-checking, social connections and business growth.In a separate statement, a Google spokeswoman criticized the legislation as "unworkable" and said the company had offered "thoughtful and pragmatic solutions" to improve it.
Google told Canadian lawmakers in May that debate over the legislation has created unrealistic expectations among politicians and news publishers of " an unlimited subsidy for the Canadian media”. Among other changes, Google suggested requiring tech companies to pay to "view" news content, not to link to it.
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