New Law To Make Facebook, Google Start Paying Online News Publishers

Canada has proposed legislation, meant to compel two big internet giants, Facebook and Google to pay news publishers for their content, henceforth.

Entitled the “Online News Act,” or House of Commons bill C-18, the new law will require digital platforms that have a bargaining imbalance, measured by metrics like a firm’s global revenue, with news businesses to make fair deals that would then be assessed by a regulator.

According to Canadian Heritage Minister, Pablo Rodriguez at a news conference, introducing the new bill: “The news sector in Canada is in crisis.”

In his remarks, the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau stated that the latest law would work similarly to the one in Australia, which made it mandatory for Google’s Alphabet Inc and Meta- owned platform, Facebook to pay media companies for content on their platforms.

The country’s news media industry had, reportedly, pressed charges against Facebook, asking the government for more regulation of tech companies to allow the industry to recoup financial losses it has suffered in the years that Facebook and Google have been steadily gaining greater market shares of advertising.

The stats say that more than 450 news outlets in Canada have closed since 2008, including 64 closures in the last two years.

Rodriguez said the government had held discussions with both firms and Facebook and Google had already voluntarily agreed to invest around C$1 billion each, over three years on journalism initiatives globally.

He said: “”They were open to regulations … those conversations were very frank, honest and nice.”

Take special note that the legislation would cover news businesses operating in Canada, including newspapers and news magazines with a digital presence, allowing them to bargain individually as well as in groups.