It “puts us in a bit of an awkward spot,” said Dennis Merrell, executive director of the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association, because something like half of his members would be unable to benefit.īut Kevin Desjardins, president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, suggested the measure sets a “low bar” and could encourage the hiring of more journalists. One of the sticking points for representatives of smaller outlets is the bill’s provision that media would only qualify to negotiate deals if they have at least two full-time journalists on staff. “Laws like this are going to be made all across the world, and Canada, in my view, has an opportunity to lead and set a high standard that will deliver for the Canadian public.” “This is real money for real journalism,” said Ben Scott, director of Reset Media. They pointed to the Australian law and argued that a legal requirement for online companies to pay for journalism is long overdue. Other witnesses representing news organizations told the committee the bill is an important step that could level the online playing field. “We are here because we want to participate in a thorough conversation about the details of this legislation so it can move forward and be implemented in a way that achieves the public policy goals,” he said. He insisted that the company shares the legislation’s goal to support “a sustainable future for journalism and the news” in Canada. McKay also argued that the structure of the bill serves to benefit larger organizations over smaller ones and could incentivize the production of clickbait, saying that Google’s understanding is that the number of links appearing on its search engine would affect compensation for news outlets. In other countries, such as Germany, “bad actors” have “gamed and misused” similar provisions, he said, adding that the company plans to propose specific amendments to the committee. McKay said a provision in the bill that would keep platforms from giving “undue preference” to certain news outlets would prevent Google from elevating “trusted information sources” over lower-quality content. News organizations have largely hailed the bill, which is similar to a law passed in Australia last year, though some have raised concerns about the criteria used to determine which outlets are eligible.Ĭolin McKay, Google Canada’s head of public policy and government relations, told a House of Commons committee Tuesday that the bill as it is currently written could unintentionally elevate misinformation and propaganda. OTTAWA - Google is raising “serious” concerns about a Liberal bill that seeks to require tech giants to pay media outlets in exchange for putting their news content online.īill C-18, which the government introduced in the spring, would create a framework within which “digital news intermediaries,” or major online platforms, must negotiate deals with eligible news media.
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