Sixty-three percent of Canadians are concerned about losing access to news on Facebook and Google after the Trudeau government’s Bill C-18 became law last month, which would force Big Tech platforms to compensate Canadian media outlets.
Sixty-one percent of Canadians agree that while tech companies should pay for Canadian news on their platforms, 49% say that it is impractical and that the government should back down, according to a survey conducted by The Angus Reid Institute.
Only 26% of Canadians believe that the government should stand firm on its position against tech companies.
Fourty-two percent of those surveyed believe that Google and Meta should pay an annual fee to the government for sharing Canadian news content, while 20% said the platforms should pay for every click on Canadian news links.
On Monday, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez conceded on aspects of the law in order to appeal to the tech companies. Among the proposed regulations includes implementing a cap on how much the platforms will have to pay to show news content.
Other proposals include considering “existing agreements that digital platforms have reached with news businesses” and clarifying what news outlets would be affected by the bill.
The effects of Bill C-18 are expected to come into full effect by the end of the year, according to the government’s report titled “The Online News Act: Next Steps.”
Meta and Google both announced last month that they will remove Canadian news from its platforms before the government’s law comes into effect.
“We are confirming that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada prior to the Online News Act (Bill C-18) taking effect,” wrote a spokesperson for Meta in a statement.
“We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18, passed in Parliament, content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be available to people accessing our platforms in Canada.”
Rodriguez told Canadians last week that the government will suspend all its advertising on the platforms in response to Meta and Google’s reluctance to work with the new law.
“Facebook has decided to be unreasonable and irresponsible,” said Rodriguez. “We’re counting on both platforms to stay at the table and work through the regulatory process with us.”
“Meta has left no doubt that it will not pay for links and that news has limited value on its platform,” writes University of Ottawa Research Chair on Internet Law Michael Geist. “With the government suspending its advertising on the platform, it is hard to see a road back for Meta.”
