Google’s response to the Canadian bill requiring payment for journalistic content came just over a month after the text was presented to the country’s parliament.
The tech giant has taken a strong stance against the Online News Act, a proposal by the Canadian government to force major tech into compensating agreements for the use of news, articles, and excerpts from reports on its platforms.
According to Google, the Canadian project would “break” the search engine and create a “lower standard” for the country’s journalism, hurting the entire population seeking quality information.
As in Australia, Google resists paying for Canadian content
It was created on the basis of the Online News Act. Australian law that forced Facebook and Google to pay for news use last year. The two digital media giants reacted, but eventually made multimillion-dollar deals with newspaper companies.
After Australia, it was France’s turn to charge major digital media outlets for journalistic content, but the initial negotiations did not please the industry or the country’s regulator. Google fined 500 million euros.
Months later, the search company reached an agreement with a newspaper alliance in the country to pay publishers to display their content in online searches.
This month, a broader coordinated move across Europe has seen Google announce new deals with more than 300 media companies, as well as a tool that allows outlets to license excerpts of their stories for search.
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But all these developments did not prevent Google from fiercely resisting the Canadian bill.
Presented by Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez in April The Online News Act aims to reduce the impact of recent years on the media industry with the big tech revolution.
Google and Facebook profit – a lot – from publishing content from major Canadian media outlets, but do not share ad revenue with them, according to the government’s assessment.
Rodriguez said the bill aims to resolve this “market imbalance”.
But the search engine accused the Canadian government of using a broad definition of “eligible news businesses” and failing to require qualified media outlets to meet basic journalistic standards.
In a statement signed by Sabrina Geremia, Vice President and General Manager of Google Canada, the company claims that the bill “will effectively subsidize any publication that ‘discloses current issues or events of public interest’.”
“This means that any idea or comment blog with two or more people can be eligible for funding. It also means that foreign state media may be appropriate, even if they are known sources of disinformation and propaganda.”
That’s why Google believes that enactment of the law will harm Canadian journalism, subsidizing “tools that don’t meet any journalistic standards” and “creating a regime that allows bad actors and wrong-sellers.” knowledge to thrive and profit. ”
Canadian Bill ‘Crashes’ Existing Google and Internet
In the statement, Sabrina Geremia also claims that Canada’s Online News Act will “break” the functioning of the Google search engine and even the internet as we know it today.
That’s because the bill would require tech companies to “pay news companies so we can help you find what you’re looking for” — a practice called a “connection fee,” he said.
“When Canadians seek information, they hope to have access to ALL the content the internet has to offer.
Requiring payment for links may limit Canadians’ access to information on which they depend. The Online News Act will break this critical principle of the internet for everyone.”
The Google Canada representative said the company is in line with “the government’s goal of providing a vibrant future for the news industry in Canada” and supports “careful” regulation.
“However, we are concerned that if the bill becomes law, it will worsen the news industry and undermine its ability to find quality information.”
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Canadian government calls Google’s claims exaggeration
Google’s response to paying for Canadian journalistic content caused the government to respond in the same tone.
Ashley Michnowski, spokesperson for Minister Pablo Rodriguez, denied it in a statement sent to the United States. Globe and Mail Canasá will charge a “link tax” or “break Google search” by removing or limiting the bill’s search results:
“No connection fees. Canadians pay nothing and no money goes to the government.
Facebook and Google monetize links to news sites on their platforms because the work of independent journalists has value.”
A government spokesman also said that “constructive talks” were taking place with the platform, but that it was acting similarly to the situation in Australia, where Google “tried to avoid regulation by exaggerating its concerns”.
Facebook, Google and Apple have already partnered with news organizations in Canada. Globe and Mail.
Paul Deegan, president and CEO of News Media Canada, which represents Canadian member news broadcasters, also dismissed the tech company’s claims, saying the country’s bill is “well-crafted and balanced legislation” similar to Australia’s.
“These claims are absurd. Nothing in the bill will affect Google’s discretion over what news content is hosted or how news sources are ranked.”
The Online News Act, introduced in April, is still going through legal steps for approval. The most recent debate on the matter in the House of Commons noted that conservatives still have “many questions” about the bill.
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source: Noticias
