Canada’s Online News Act, which cleared the senate on Thursday, lays out rules requiring platforms like Meta and Google to negotiate commercial deals and pay news organisations for their content.
Google called the bill “unworkable” in its current form and said it was seeking to work with the government to find a “path forward”.
Meta has called the law “fundamentally flawed legislation that ignores the realities of how our platforms work”.
The Online News Act is expected to take effect in Canada in six months.
Spain also tried to tell Google News to pay up for what they offered for free to people. Google simply shut it down. I haven’t checked up to see if news agencies floundered, went elsewhere or thrived as the rich touted would happen.
Canada is claiming the same issues. I suspect there is a symbiotic relationship between news agencies and social media that connects eyes with publishers.
I agree with the general sentiment that Facebook users are more siloed than those heading to Google News. But paying to show a snippet just isn’t feasible.