Canada: Bill compelling digital media giants to share revenue with news orgs tabled in parl
Called Bill C-18, it will be the Online News Act once passed, and that is a likely outcome as it enjoys broad support cutting across party lines. The bill was presented in the House of Commons on Tuesday by Canada’s Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez.
TORONTO: The Canadian government has tabled a legislation in parliament that will compel digital media giants to enter into revenue sharing agreements with news organisations.
Called Bill C-18, it will be the Online News Act once passed, and that is a likely outcome as it enjoys broad support cutting across party lines.
The bill was presented in the House of Commons on Tuesday by Canada’s Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez, and he tweeted, “A free and independent press is essential to Canada’s democracy. We’re asking tech giants to fairly compensate publishers and journalists for their work and to contribute to the sustainability of local, independent news in Canada.”
Among the digital behemoths that the bill will impact are Google and Meta, the parent company of Facebook.
A release from the government said the bill will ensure “fair revenue sharing between digital platforms and news outlets.”
It provides for collective bargaining by news outlets and promotes “voluntary commercial agreements between digital platforms and news outlets, with minimal government intervention”.
However, in case such deals are not reached, it “establishes a mandatory arbitration framework where digital platforms and news outlets cannot reach commercial agreements” with the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) functioning as the regulator.
During a press conference in Ottawa, Rodriguez said the bill was necessary as the “news sector is in crisis” and outlets and journalists “must receive fair compensation for their work. It shouldn’t be free”.
Spokespersons for Google and Meta were cited by Canadian media as stating they were reviewing the proposed legislation.
According to government data, 450 news outlets have closed in the past year, while Google and Facebook have earned 9.7 billion Canadian dollars ($7.75 billion) and accounted for 80% of the online advertising revenue pie.
News Media Canada, which represents over 500 print and digital outlets, welcomed the measure.
In a release, its chair Jamie Irving said, “This approach has been a shining success in Australia, where publishers large and small are inking meaningful content licensing agreements.”
