Google said Thursday it will remove Canadian news content from its search, news and discoverable products after a new law aimed at compensating media outlets takes effect.
The move to pull news from the world’s most popular search engine could have a devastating impact on Canadian media, which often rely on third parties like Google to get content into the hands of readers.
The decision comes after the government’s controversial legislation C-18 passed Parliament last week. The bill has been criticized by tech giants like Meta and Google who say it’s unfair to impose what amounts to a tax on links.
Some smaller media and pundits have criticized the regime because they claim that most of the financial benefits will accrue to a handful of large media players.
“We are disappointed that it has come to this. We do not take this decision and its impacts lightly and believe it is important to be transparent with Canadian publishers and our users as soon as possible,” said Kent Walker, President of global affairs. at Google and Alphabet.
“The unprecedented decision to put a price on links (the so-called ‘link tax’) creates uncertainty for our products and exposes us to unlimited financial liability simply to make it easier for Canadians to access publisher news Canadians.”
The government and larger media outlets, including the newspaper lobby and broadcasters such as CBC and CTV, have said social media companies should compensate media outlets for use of their content.
“Deeply irresponsible”
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez suggested Thursday that he has no intention of backing down from this fight with the American web giants that control so much of what Canadians read and watch.
“Big tech would rather spend money to change their platforms to prevent Canadians from accessing good, local news than pay their fair share to news organizations,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez called Google’s decision to move Canadian news content off its site a “deeply irresponsible” move. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
“This shows how deeply irresponsible and out of touch they are, especially when they make billions of dollars off Canadian users. Canada must have a strong, free and independent press. It is fundamental to our democracy.”
Rodriguez added in an interview with CBC News that he was surprised by Google’s statement because the government’s talks with the company are ongoing.
“We are still having recent discussions with Google this morning,” he said. “Google knows very well that the clarity they need will come soon through regulation.”
Just yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government was confident Google would move the legislation forward.
“I will say that conversations with Google are ongoing. It’s important that we find a way to ensure that Canadians can continue to access content in all kinds of ways, but also that we protect rigorous independent journalism that plays a critical role in our democracies.” He said.
“We know that democracies only work with a strong, independent and diverse media and we will continue to work for this.”
WATCH: Trudeau says he’s ‘disappointed’ by Meta’s reaction to online news law
Trudeau says he’s ‘disappointed’ with Meta’s threat to end access to news on Facebook and Instagram
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will continue to work with the social media giants to “ensure that Canadians can continue to function freely and openly online.”
Meta has already said it will block Canadian news content on popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Trudeau called Meta’s decision “extremely disappointing.”
“Facebook continues to refuse to accept its responsibility to our democracy by refusing to pay its fair share,” Trudeau said.
The bill has been introduced as a way to keep the media solvent after advertising moved en masse to digital platforms, virtually eliminating a major source of revenue for journalism.
The dominance over advertising that the old media once enjoyed is over. Google and Facebook have a combined 80% share of all online ad revenue in Canada and take in $9.7 billion annually, according to government data.
According to government figures, more than 450 media outlets in Canada have closed since 2008, and at least a third of Canadian journalism jobs have disappeared during that same time period.
Print and digital news companies have struggled to make money from their content after losing major sources of revenue, such as classified ads and subscriptions.
In an era of cord-cutting, some private and public broadcasters have also failed to adequately monetize their airwaves to pay for local, regional and national radio and television news.
After years of losing money, Bell Media-owned CTV recently announced deep cuts, essentially closing the company’s foreign bureaus and shrinking its footprint in Ottawa and Washington, DC.
Pointing to layoffs and a struggling news industry, Rodriguez said Thursday that “the status quo is not working.” He said the new legislation is intended to “level the playing field by bringing the power of big tech under control.”
In an attempt to reverse falling revenue, the government’s new regulatory regime will require companies like Google and Meta-owned Facebook and other major online platforms that reproduce or facilitate access to news content to pay to publish content or go through a binding arbitration process led by an independent regulator, the Canadian Telecommunications and Radio-television Commission (CRTC).
An outlet will be considered an eligible news business if it regularly employs two or more journalists in Canada, operates primarily in Canada and produces content edited and designed in Canada.
Google and Meta have indicated that they would rather get out of the news publishing business than deal with this process.
In a separate statement, a Google Canada spokesperson said the government’s legislation “will make it harder for Canadians to find news online, make it harder for journalists to reach their audiences and reduce valuable free web traffic for Canadian publishers.”
But Google indicated it may be willing to change course if the government addresses some of its concerns.
“We hope the government will be able to chart a viable path forward,” said Google spokesman Shay Pardy.
CBC/Radio-Canada could be a beneficiary of this new federal program because it operates one of the largest news sites in the country and links to its content are regularly shared on other platforms.
Under the new law, CBC must provide an annual report on any news compensation it receives from digital operators.
“We all depend on an open Internet. It would be unfortunate if digital platforms used their dominance to deny Canadians access to news and information. We encourage Canadians to go directly to the websites and apps they trust for their news,” Leon Mar said. , spokesperson for CBC/Radio Canada.
OpenMedia, an advocacy group that has attacked the bill in the past, said Thursday that Google’s decision is “exactly what we warned the Heritage Minister about [Pablo] Rodríguez about”.
“Unfortunately, the way this bill was drafted made news blocking inevitable,” said Matt Hatfield, the group’s campaign director.
“Instead of building a much-needed sustainable funding model that supports quality and diverse news, the failures of C-18 will make it even more difficult for Canadians to access the news they need on the platforms they use.”
Michael Geist is a Canada Research Chair in Internet Law and Electronic Commerce at the University of Ottawa and a fierce critic of the bill.
He said Rodriguez, the minister who pushed this legislation through Parliament, “didn’t take seriously the risks of the flawed Bill C-18.”
Geist said the minister is “squarely to blame” for Google’s decision, which risks jeopardizing an already fragile industry.
“The damage from this cannot be overstated: the news industry loses hundreds of millions, Canadians face degraded search results, and the prominence of low-quality sources increases,” Geist tweeted.
In a media release, the NDP was scathing in its criticism of Google.
The party’s heritage critic Peter Julian said “billionaire web giants” like Google and Meta are “gambling” with the future of Canadian media, which he called a “shameful” practice akin to “bullying.”
“When it comes time to draw the line and ask them to pay their fair share, Meta and Google resort to bullying tactics that show Canadians their true colors: if they don’t like the rules, they won’t follow them, until and all if these. there are rules to protect good quality journalism and Canadians,” Julian said.
NDP MP Peter Julian speaks to reporters in the lobby of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Julian issued a scathing statement about Google’s decision to pull Canadian news, calling the move harassment. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Julian said the same companies now threatening to block news content have been slow to remove the misinformation and “hate speech” that regularly circulates on their platforms.
Now they’re throwing their weight around, Julian said, and trying to stop a bill that “improves fairness in the news market.”
“It’s ironic how these ultra-wealthy web giants act so quickly to block reliable news information from Canadians when they don’t get their way, and yet aren’t so eager to stop hate speech on their platforms “, he said.
