The passage of the federal government’s controversial Online News Act has exposed divisions over the legislation as tech giant Meta said it would block news on its social media platforms in response to the legislation.
Bill C-18 received royal assent after a final vote in the Senate on Thursday. The law would force some tech companies to pay for news content shared on their platforms.
Meta announced in a news release after the act’s passage that it would block news for Canadian users in order to comply with the law, and would do so in the six months before C-18 went into effect, although it did not provide any details. Date not given.
They are acting like there are no rules. – Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez
In an interview with CBC News Network rosemary barton liveCanadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez defended the C-18 as necessary to support Canadian journalists and news organizations and to regulate large tech companies.
“We’re just saying to the tech giants, well, you have to consider that it has value and pay for that value — no more, no less. [than] What’s fair,” Rodriguez told host Rosemary Barton.
Rodriguez said he expected Meta to negotiate with the government, adding that larger tech companies should accept more regulation.
He said, “They’re acting like there are no rules. It’s kind of like the Wild West where these guys can come and do whatever they want.”
“It doesn’t work that way in Canada, not in a democracy, and I can’t accept that a company like Meta comes here and threatens us, and threatens a sovereign country, and if we’re going to fight for Canadians.” If you don’t stand up, who will stand up?” He asked.
Google says concerns haven’t been addressed
Google Canada said in a statement Thursday that none of its concerns about C-18 have been addressed, but it looks forward to working with the government on the legislation.
The Online News Act requires both companies to enter into agreements with news publishers to pay them for news content that appears on their sites if it helps the tech giants generate money.
But the law has prompted debate in parliament and beyond about the government’s role in supporting the media and regulating tech giants.
A spokesman for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre directed the CBC Poilivre tweeted Friday morning.
“There you have it. Step-by-step, the Trudeau government is deliberately hindering what people can see and share online,” Poilivre said in the tweet.
poilivare said in a tweet The latter sent on Friday that if he became prime minister he would “repeal Trudeau’s censorship laws and bring home freedom of expression”.
Yellow.
Step by step, the Trudeau government is deliberately restricting what people can see and share online. pic.twitter.com/mZP1SQ9lfD
But NDP Canadian Heritage critic Peter Julian criticized both META’s decision and Poilievre’s opposition to C-18.
“Meta’s announcement to end news access for all users in Canada in retaliation for Bill C-18 is completely unacceptable. The NDP has worked hard to ensure that this legislation protects access to reliable news,” he said. Protects and puts web giants and local media on an equal footing.” said in a statement to the media.
“Rather than standing up for local media, Poilevre’s Conservatives will defend the interests of super-rich web giants. In an age of fake news, we need more access to credible media and reporting, not less.”
Both Meta and Google have experimented with blocking news on their platforms for some users in anticipation of the bill becoming law.
The C-18 is modeled on a similar Australian law. Meta, then known as Facebook, briefly blocked news on the platform before reaching a settlement with the Australian government.
Media organizations welcomed the new law
The bill has found support among several media outlets, publishers and advocacy organizations, who say it will help shore up the beleaguered Canadian news industry.
,[The bill’s passage] This is an important first step in leveling the playing field and addressing the significant market power imbalance between publishers and platforms, and restoring fairness and ensuring the stability of the Canadian news media ecosystem,” News Media Canada President Jamie Irving said, an advocacy organization for Canadian print and online media.
In an interview with CBC News Network power and politicsPaul Deegan, president of News Media Canada, said he was confident that Meta, the government and the media could work out a deal.
Deegan told host David Cochrane, “These companies make a lot of money in Canada … Canada is a very attractive market for Facebook, and it’s in their self-interest to continue to feature news on their platform, it’s in their economic interest.” Is.” ,
“We’re 100 percent confident that we can come up with something that we can live with, and that they can live with.”
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) also welcomed the passage of C-18.
“This much-needed legislation will ensure that our domestic news businesses, including our private broadcasters, have a framework for fair negotiation with online platforms on the value derived from their content,” the CAB said in a statement.
“This is a positive step toward correcting the imbalance that exists between Canadian news businesses and foreign web giants who benefit financially from using their content,” CAB President Kevin Desjardins said in the statement.
Maria Saras-Voutsinas, executive director of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, said the organization is “pleased” that the bill has passed.
“I think it’s going to save the industry,” he said, adding that he hopes META will change its position on the legislation.
Saras-Voutsinas said, “It would have been great if we could have just cooperated instead of playing these kinds of games, so it’s unfortunate. I’m really disappointed.”
The government said in a news release that revenues for broadcast television, radio, newspapers and magazines declined by almost $6 billion between 2008 and 2020, and that since 2008, 474 news media outlets closed across Canada. Are.
There are loopholes in the bill: experts
Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law and professor of law at the University of Ottawa, said Meta does not get much economic value from news content, and the news industry needs Facebook more than the other way around.
“I think the government has pushed itself into an unfortunate corner with some pretty obvious consequences,” Geist said in an interview Friday with CBC News Network.
Geist said the government could have taken a different approach to supporting Canadian media, such as creating a fund that is supported by tax revenue from tech companies like Meta and Google.
Such an approach would have been less complex, he said.
Geist said, “So I think there were a lot of real risks and problems with this legislation. There were better alternatives.”
“And for whatever reason the government was adamant about saying ‘no’, this was the approach they were going to take, and they never took the risks associated with their approach particularly seriously.”
Michael Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and e-commerce law, said the government could have taken a different approach to supporting news organizations than paying tech giants like Meta to link to their content. (Guillaume Lafreniere/CBC)
Geist said Google is more likely to reach an agreement with the government than Facebook, given the difference between the two platforms in terms of the value of news content.
Rodriguez said talks with Google are going well.
“They were very constructive, very positive, so Google has one approach, Meta has another,” he said.
“I’m a little surprised and disappointed by Meta because they keep threatening Canadians, they keep threatening the government, and it doesn’t work that way. I don’t work under threat.”
Janet Eggeson, publisher of the BC-based online news magazine The Tie, said in an interview power and politics Although he is confident that publication will survive, the law could threaten some media outlets.
“Smaller publications are highly dependent on traffic from platforms like Google and Facebook,” he said.
“We will feel some pain, but [for] I would say that some other, smaller news organizations do exist.”
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