Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez is holding a press conference on the introduction of Bill C-18, the Online News Act, in Ottawa on April 5th. Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press
Google is stepping up opposition to the federal government’s Online News Act, warning that the proposed new law will “break” its popular search engine.
Google Canada Vice President and Managing Director Sabrina Geremia criticized the bill Monday in an online post, saying the bill, as drafted now, is likely to worsen Canada’s news industry and damage Canadians’ ability to find quality information.
One of the biggest concerns of the social media giant is the language in the bill, which prohibits “digital news operators” – a category that would apply to Google and other search engines – to give “illegal or unreasonable preference” to specific news .
The company claims that this language is unclear and puts at risk the main function of Google’s search engine, which is to provide ranked answers to a search query.
It also states that Google’s requirement to pay news organizations that appear in search results is a “link tax” and may mean that users receive less information.
“The ability to connect freely between websites is essential to how the Internet works,” said Ms Geremia. “Canadians expect that when they search for information, they will have access to ALL the content that the Internet has to offer. Requiring payment for links risks restricting Canadians’ access to the information on which they depend. The Online News Act would violate this critical principle of the Internet for all. “
Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez introduced Bill C-18, the Online News Act, last month. The bill aims to force global technology companies such as Facebook and Google to negotiate payment agreements with news organizations to compensate for news content that appears on major platforms.
The legislation is modeled on a similar approach adopted last year in Australia.
Facebook and Google have lobbied hard against the original Australian proposal, with Facebook temporarily blocking news sharing on its platform. Google has threatened to do so. Both companies eventually withdrew after the Australian proposal was amended.
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Ashley Michnowski, a spokesman for Mr Rodriguez, said in a statement that hundreds of newsrooms had been closed because advertising revenue had been transferred to technology giants. She rejected Google’s claim that the account was subject to a link tax or that it would disrupt Google search by removing or restricting search results.
“There is no tax on relationships. Canadians don’t pay for anything and no money goes to the government. “Facebook and Google make money by linking to news sites on their platforms because the work of independent journalists has value,” Ms. Mihnowski said. “We had constructive talks with Google, but they withdrew from their original book in Australia when Google tried to evade regulation by exaggerating its concerns.”
Similar to the Canadian proposal, Australian law allows major platforms such as Facebook and Google to be exempt from certain elements of the law if they have reached compensation agreements with news publishers.
Facebook, Google and Apple have already signed some partnerships with news organizations in Canada, including The Globe and Mail.
Paul Deegan, president and CEO of News Media Canada, which advocates on behalf of members of Canadian news publishers, dismissed Google’s claims that the bill was a “connection tax.” He said the Canadian bill was “well-crafted, balanced legislation” similar to Australia’s.
“These allegations are nonsense. “Nothing in Bill C-18 will affect Google’s assessment of what news content is hosted or how news sources are ranked,” Deegan told The Globe.
The Globe is a member of News Media Canada.
Pierre Carl Pelado, president and CEO of Quebecor, which owns TVA Nouvelles and publishes Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, weighed in on the bill Monday during a speech at a conference of the International Communications Institute in Ottawa.
“The federal government’s C-18 bill is a first step in the right direction, recognizing that the use and dissemination of local information without compensation from foreign platforms is unfair and detrimental to the resilience of Canadian media,” he said in a statement.
The law is currently in the second reading in the House of Commons and has not yet been sent to the committee for detailed hearings. During the last day of debate last Friday, Conservative MP John Natter said his party’s platform in the 2021 election campaign includes a commitment to a digital media copyright framework that includes best practices. policies adopted by Australia and France.
However, he said conservatives have many questions about the C-18. He submitted a proposal that the bill would be withdrawn in favor of a study by the Canadian Heritage Committee.
The Québécois bloc and the NDP have said they support the bill in principle, which means it is likely to go through the legislative process against conservative objections.
With a report by Alexandra Posadzki
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