Canada and Google have reached an agreement that resolves a standoff over the Canadian government’s Online News Act, and that will lead to substantial financial support for Canadian news publishers. The Canadian federal government made the announcement on Wednesday, indicating a shift in Google’s initial stance of potentially removing all Canadian news content following the launch of the new legislation.
The agreement ensures that Google commits to contributing 100 million Canadian dollars ($73.5 million) annually to support a broad range of news businesses throughout Canada. This support isn’t limited to major news corporations but includes independent news entities and those representing Indigenous and official-language minority communities.
Canada’s Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the agreement, emphasizing the importance of a sustainable news ecosystem to inform communities, drive civic engagement, and counter the rise of disinformation.
Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs for Google and Alphabet, echoed St-Onge’s sentiments, indicating satisfaction with the result of the negotiations. Walker highlighted the commitment of the Canadian government to address Google’s core issues, including paving a streamlined path to an exemption at a clear commitment threshold.
The introduction of the Online News Act stirred quite a reaction from tech companies. In June, Google expressed its intention to remove Canadian news links from its search engine, news, and Discover products citing that the Act made their offering untenable.
In a similar vein, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, began blocking news content for Canadian users in August. This action presented difficulties for smaller news publishers that depended on Meta for distribution, leading to a competition complaint by Canadian news publishers and broadcasters about Meta’s dominating position in the online advertising market.
The full details of this development can be found here.