Google announced on Thursday that it will remove links to Canadian media in response to a recently passed law that forces the web giants to pay for the distribution of local media content, AFP reported.
The US giant’s decision represents a breakdown in negotiations with the federal government and comes in addition to a decision taken by Meta, which announced last week that Facebook and Instagram would block access to Canadian media posts.
“We made the difficult decision to remove links to Canadian news from our Search, News and Discover products as soon as the law takes effect,” said Kent Walker, head of global operations at Google and parent company Alphabet.
He also announced that Google “will no longer be able to operate the News Showcase in Canada,” a kind of small showcase for the editorial output of local media.
“We are disappointed that we have reached such a situation. We do not take this decision lightly,” he added, noting that the measure will take effect in a few months when the law comes into force.
The new law “will make it harder for Canadians to find information online and prevent journalists from reaching their audiences,” he added in a blog post.
Since 2008, 450 media outlets have closed
The new legislation requires digital giants to enter into fair trade agreements with Canadian media outlets for publications shared on their platforms or risk binding arbitration.
For the California-based company, the government’s decision to “fix the link price” creates “uncertainty for our products and exposes us to unlimited financial obligations.”
According to Ottawa, the new measure is aimed at supporting Canada’s media sector, which has seen more than 450 media outlets close since 2008.
The bill is inspired by a bill passed in 2021 in Australia, the first of its kind in the world.
The text was easily adopted after Facebook and Google reached an agreement to avoid binding arbitration.
The European Union is not far behind
Faced with the same situation, the European Union introduced a “neighborhood law” in 2019 to allow press publishers to receive remuneration for content used by online platforms.
After some reluctance, Google signed deals with French newspapers in November, a world first.
At the end of 2021, AFP signed an agreement with Google that rewards the agency for five years for content presented by the American giant, as well as two commercial contracts, also for five years.
Source: Hot News
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