Google to Terminate News Access in Canada Due to Publisher Payment Law

Google said on Thursday that it will restrict Canadian journalism on its platform in Canada, joining Facebook in a battle against a new law demanding payments to local news publishers.

When the law goes into force in roughly six months, Alphabet-owned Google will delete connections to Canadian news from search results and other goods in Canada.

Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, made a similar remark last week following the adoption of Bill C-18, often known as the Online News Act.

The Canadian media sector has advocated for stronger regulation of Internet behemoths in order for news organisations to recoup financial losses sustained during the years when Facebook and Google obtained a larger proportion of the online advertising market.

Last year, the independent budget watchdog in Canada predicted that agreements mandated by the legislation might bring in around CAD 330 million (about Rs. 20,436 crore) every year.

The measure was submitted last year by Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, who stated that the platforms have no immediate duties under the act and that the government is willing to cooperate with them on the regulation and implementation process.

Facebook and Google claimed the ideas were unsustainable for their operations and had been threatening to cease news access in Canada for months unless the act was altered.

The federal government of Canada has resisted calls for change, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the firms in June of adopting "bullying tactics."

"Rather than paying their fair share to news organisations, big tech would rather spend money changing their platforms to prevent Canadians from accessing good quality and local news," Rodriguez said in a statement on Thursday.

"This demonstrates how deeply irresponsible and out of touch they are, particularly given that they make billions of dollars from Canadian users."

In a blog post, Google's president of global affairs, Kent Walker, stated that the law is still unworkable and that the business does not believe the regulatory process would be able to overcome "structural issues with the legislation."

"We have now informed the government that when the law takes effect, we will unfortunately have to remove links to Canadian news from our Search, News, and Discover products in Canada," Walker explained.

When the criteria for implementation are established, the news outlets affected by Google's decision will be based on the government's definition of "eligible news businesses."

Google will also discontinue its News Showcase project in Canada, under which it has affiliations with 150 news outlets throughout the nation. Reuters has a deal with Google to develop News Showcase panels around the country, including in Canada.

The law requires internet platforms to negotiate with and pay for news publishers' material. A similar regulation approved in Australia in 2021 caused Google and Facebook to threaten to halt their services. Following the amendment of the Act, both negotiated partnerships with Australian media businesses.

Google has stated that Canada's regulation is wider than those in Australia and Europe, putting a price on news story links displayed in search results and applying to non-news sites.

The search engine giant requested that the presentation of news content, rather than links, be used to determine payment, and that only firms who generate news in accordance with journalistic standards be eligible.