After months of negotiations, the Canadian government and Google have reached an agreement under which the Californian giant will pay compensation to media companies in the country in exchange for distributing their content, several Canadian media outlets reported on Wednesday, citing AFP.

According to CBC/Radio-Canada and the Globe & Mail, after the agreement reached by the two sides, Google will redistribute about 100 million Canadian dollars (67 million euros) to the media in this country, while the Justin Trudeau government requested 172 million.

Ottawa is battling Google and Meta over its new online news law, the “Online News Act,” designed to force the digital giants to sign commercial deals with media outlets to share their content on the two California giants’ platforms.

The law, known as C-18, is due to come into effect on December 19, but Meta and Google have already spoken out against it.

In early October, Google raised the possibility of blocking news sites from its search engine if Canadian law is not changed.

The California-based giant called on the Canadian government to make “necessary” legislative changes to the measure, citing an “unfeasible” media consent process.

Under the deal, Google will negotiate with a single group representing all media outlets, allowing it to limit its arbitration risks, CBC/Radio-Canada said.

For its part, Meta – the owner of Facebook and Instagram – has blocked access to media news content on its platforms in Canada since August 1, even before the law took effect.

Neither Google nor the office of the minister responsible for the issue responded to questions from AFP on Wednesday morning.

The legislation was introduced by the federal government to stop the erosion of media in Canada in favor of the digital giants, to whom advertising revenue has flowed in recent years. (photo: Dreamstime)