On Friday, Canada introduced proposed regulations tied to the Online News Act, aimed at ensuring that major tech companies like Alphabet’s Google and Meta Platforms compensate news organizations. This initiative is a response to the concerns raised by these companies regarding the potential for unlimited financial liability.
The Online News Act, which is aligned with a growing global movement advocating for payment from tech giants for news content, was enacted in June and is slated to take effect in December.
Under the draft regulations, Facebook and Google are expected to engage in voluntary negotiations with Canadian news publishers, agreeing to pay a share of their global revenues based on a defined calculation.
However, both companies have expressed that the law presents significant challenges to their operations. Meta has already ceased news sharing on its platforms in Canada, while Google is poised to restrict news content from its search results ahead of the law’s implementation.
During a media briefing, a Canadian government official indicated that these proposed rules could generate approximately CAD 172 million (around Rs. 1,050 crore) annually from Google and about CAD 60 million (close to Rs. 360 crore) from Facebook.
Should the companies fail to achieve a payment threshold through these voluntary agreements, they may be required to participate in mandatory negotiations overseen by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
Last week, the CRTC announced plans to establish a framework for negotiations between news organizations and tech firms this fall, with the intent of commencing mandatory bargaining by early 2025.
The draft regulations also provide for both financial and non-financial contributions to news entities, considering existing agreements within the industry.
Additionally, any agreements struck by Google and Facebook must include provisions for independent local, Indigenous, and official language minority community news organizations, as stipulated in the proposed regulations.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
