Under the Online News Act, Google and Meta may be required to pay more than CAD 230 million in Canada

Canada announced proposed guidelines for a bill requiring Alphabet's Google and Meta Platforms to pay news publications on Friday, saying Ottawa was addressing the corporations' worries about unchecked liability.

The Online News Act of Canada, which is part of a global movement to have Internet companies pay for news, passed legislation in June and is set to go into force in December.

According to the draft legislation, Facebook and Google will be required to voluntarily negotiate partnerships with Canadian news publishers and pay a share of their global income based on a predetermined formula.

Both companies have stated that the rule is untenable for them, and Meta has already stopped disseminating news on its platforms in Canada. Google also intends to remove news from search results in Canada before the legislation takes effect.

A Canadian government source told reporters in a briefing that the proposed plans, which will go through public comment, would raise CAD 172 million (nearly Rs. 1,050 crore) per year from Google and around CAD 60 million (nearly Rs. 360 crore) per year from Facebook.

If a company fails to achieve a payment level through voluntary agreements, it may be forced to engage in obligatory negotiation, which is monitored by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

Last Monday, the Canadian regulator in charge said that it will begin establishing a framework for discussions between news organizations and internet behemoths this autumn, with the goal of commencing forced negotiating by early 2025.

The proposed guidelines allow for both monetary and non-monetary donations to news organizations, as well as consideration of pre-existing agreements.

According to the draft laws, agreements that Google and Facebook reach must also include independent local, Indigenous, and official language minority community news enterprises.