(OTTAWA) Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says the government is moving forward with plans to ensure digital giants pay Canadian media for the reuse of their news content.
Posted at 9:41 p.m.
Mr Rodriguez is consulting with opposition parties on bringing forward a bill inspired by Australian legislation requiring tech giants to pay for news content on their platforms.
The minister said a bill was a “top priority” for him and he was moving quickly to introduce it.
He said there was now a “critical situation” that needed to be resolved in the news industry in Canada.
Hundreds of newspapers and other news outlets have closed in Canada and the bulk of ad revenue now goes to two digital companies, he said.
“Over the past 15 years, about 450 media outlets have closed,” Rodriguez said. If you only go back to February 2020, 63 of these outlets closed, so we need to act. I would say there is a crisis in the Canadian information system. »
Mr Rodriguez said he believed the shutdown of Canadian media meant that “our democracy has not become stronger, but weaker”.
“We have to make sure that we have a system where we will have an independent, strong and free press. We must protect and ensure that Canadians have access to professional, impartial, neutral and non-partisan information,” he added.
Last week, NDP MP Peter Julian wrote to Rodriguez accusing the government of dragging its feet. In his letter, he argued that “digital giants such as Facebook and Google have misappropriated the advertising revenue that our media is funded from.”
Julian told The Canadian Press that the NDP would be willing to work with the Liberal government to pass legislation modeled on Australian legislation.
The NDP MP said quick action is crucial during the pandemic, as Canadians are basing important decisions, such as whether or not to wear masks, on “misinformation” on digital platforms, rather than on unbiased reporting by journalists.
Mr Julian said making tech giants pay for news, like in Australia, would be “an important first step” to redress the balance and help keep local media alive.
Facebook, now known as Meta, initially responded to Australian law by blocking information from that country on its platform before reaching a deal with the government.
Meta, which funds reporting grants to The Canadian Press, said it would not comment on Canada’s bill until it saw a draft. But the company said that over the past four years it has invested nearly $10 million in partnerships and programs to encourage and support the development of sustainable business models for news outlets – print and broadcast – in Canada.
Mr Rodriguez argued there was a ‘general consensus’ that Australia’s legislation was ‘fair’ – adding ‘there will be things that will be uniquely Canadian’ in the bill he is considering to present.
“I think it (will) be fair to everyone on all sides and protect the independence of the press and allow us to have a free press,” he said.
Lauren Skelly, spokesperson for Google Canada, said information is “vital to a thriving democracy” and “at the heart” of Google’s mission to make “information universally accessible and useful.”
Butme Skelly said some aspects of the Australian system were “unworkable”.
“Canada has the opportunity to create a world-class internet policy that strengthens the news industry and we look forward to working closely with the government to help achieve this goal,” she said. supported.