- Since early this year, Canadian news has already been blocked by Meta.
- Google will provide a yearly financial contribution of $74 million to news organizations.
- The agreement will likely have an impact on other nations as they face similar issues.
Canada’s government announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with Google under which the business would give 100 million Canadian dollars to the nation’s news industry each year to comply with a new Canadian law that mandates that tech companies compensate publishers for their content.
Through the agreement, Google’s threat to prevent Canadians from searching for Canadian news on Google is removed. Since early this year, Canadian news has already been blocked by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
Canadian news industry
The announcement was made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Google will provide a yearly financial contribution of $100 million Canadian ($74 million) to several news organizations throughout the nation.
The action was taken in response to Canada’s June passage of the Online News Act, which mandates that tech companies compensate publishers for online links to and repurposings of their content.
In response to the law, Meta blocked Canadian news content from appearing on its platforms. This included audio, video, and article content from Canadian and international news sources. Newsrooms have been forced to lay off staff or close their doors as a result of the decision, endangering the future of the Canadian news sector.
Thanking the Minister, Google, and Alphabet President of Global Affairs Kent Walker promised to keep driving valuable traffic to Canadian publishers. In reaction to Meta’s position, the Canadian government announced earlier this year that it would cease running advertisements on Facebook and Instagram.
Similar actions have been taken by Meta in the past. In 2021, the company briefly blocked news from its platform in Australia following the enactment of laws requiring tech companies to compensate publishers for using their news stories. According to Trudeau, the agreement will likely have an impact on other nations as they face similar issues to those that Canada’s media landscape is currently facing.
