(Ottawa) Ottawa is granting $8.5 million to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to develop a regulatory regime to manage the use of journalistic content by digital giants.
Posted at 4:05 p.m.
Experts question whether the CRTC has the expertise or experience to regulate “web giants” that derive revenue from sharing journalistic content published online on their platforms.
If the Liberals’ bill passes the Commons, digital companies, including Google, will have six months to voluntarily negotiate private agreements with Canadian media to compensate them “fairly” for the reuse of their content. journalistic. These digital giants will then have to demonstrate to the CRTC that the agreement reached with the media is satisfactory, based on six criteria.
If the CRTC determines that the six criteria are not met, “compulsory negotiations” may be initiated by newsrooms, which may bargain collectively.
The CRTC maintains that it has a solid track record and that it can adapt its approach to the evolution of the information market. The agency promises to work with the Treasury Board to obtain sufficient resources to fulfill these new regulatory functions.
Bill C-18 is inspired by an Australian law that requires tech companies such as Google to pay for journalistic content posted on their platforms.