(OTTAWA) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shows no interest in dealing with Meta and Google over proposed online news legislation that would make tech giants pay for journalistic content created by others that helps these companies generate income.
Google says it wants to compromise with the Liberal government on Bill C-18 that would force tech giants to pay news media for links to news content.
But Trudeau says the bullying tactics of Meta and Google won’t work with his government, which he says is making sure those companies don’t weaken Canadian democracy by threatening its national media industry.
Meta announced last week that it will test blocking access to certain news for certain Canadian users of its Instagram and Facebook social media platforms — a decision it is prepared to make permanent if C-18 is passed more later this month.
Google conducted a similar test earlier this year, limiting access for about 4% of its Canadian users to news on its search engine.
At a Senate committee, where the bill is currently being considered, news media executives said they could lose millions of dollars if their content was blocked by Google and Meta.
Neither Google nor Meta immediately responded to a request for comment.
Meta funds a limited number of grants that support emerging journalists at The Canadian Press.