Tag: Bill C-18

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Canadians won’t have access to news on Facebook, Instagram, if Bill C-18 approved: Meta

Meta says Canadians won’t be able to access news on its platforms if Bill C-18 becomes law. 

According to The Globe and Mail, the move will impact written and broadcast news. 

Under the bill, known as the Online News Act, platforms like Meta will have to pay news organizations for posting their content. 

“If the Online News Act passes in its current form, we will end the availability of news content on Facebook and Instagram for people in Canada,” Meta spokesperson, Lisa Laventure, told the publication. “A legislative framework that compels us to pay for links or content that we do not post, and which are not the reason the vast majority of people use our platform, is neither sustainable nor workable.”

The Globe reports unknown financial consequences of the bill played a role in the decision. Laventure told the publication three percent of the posts Canadians see on Facebook have links to news content which “is not a significant source of revenue.”

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said he was disappointed in Meta’s decision. “All we’re asking Facebook to do is negotiate fair deals with news outlets when they profit from their work.”

The news follows Google’s test to block some Canadians from accessing news.

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Source: The Globe and Mail

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Mobile Syrup

PM ‘surprised’ by Google’s test to block news access for some Canadians

June 11, 2019, Brazil. In this photo illustration the Google News logo is displayed on a smartphone.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is taking aim at Google for limiting some Canadians’ access to news content. 

“It really surprises me that Google has decided that [it] would rather prevent Canadians from accessing news than actually paying journalists for the work they do,” Trudeau said at a news conference last week. “I think that’s a terrible mistake and I know Canadians expect journalists to be well paid for the work they do.”

Google’s move is a possible response to Bill C-18. Known as the Online News Act, the bill will make platforms, including Google, pay news sites for publishing their content. The company told The Canadian Press the test only impacts four percent of Canadians and focuses on the search engine and Google Discover on Android.

Google further defended its actions, stating it conducts thousands of tests each year.

“We’ve been fully transparent about our concern that C-18 is overly broad and, if unchanged, could impact products Canadians use and rely on every day,” a Google spokesperson told Cartt.ca. “We remain committed to supporting a sustainable future for news in Canada and offering solutions that fix Bill C-18.”

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Source: The Canadian Press Via: Cartt.ca 

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Mobile Syrup

Google is blocking some Canadians from accessing news content under new test

Google is blocking some Canadians from accessing news content as a possible response to Bill C-18.

If the bill, known as the Online News Act, passes, digital platforms like Google and Meta will be responsible for paying news outlets for articles and other content they publish on their platforms.

According to The Canadian Press, the trial impacts roughly four percent of Canadians and pertains to the search engine and Google Discover on Android. The test will last five weeks, the publication reports.

“We’re briefly testing potential product responses to Bill C-18 that impact a very small percentage of Canadian users,” Google spokesman Shay Purdy told The Canadian Press. “We’ve been fully transparent about our concern that C-18 is overly broad and, if unchanged, could impact products Canadians use and rely on every day.”

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Source: The Canadian Press 

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Mobile Syrup

Ministers Rodriguez and Champagne outline new CRTC chair’s expectations in letter

As the new head of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Vicky Eatrides has a long list of responsibilities, and two federal Ministers want to cement the fact.

In a letter to Eatrides, Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez and Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne listed a number of issues they say are vital for Eatrides to accomplish her mandate.

Listed towards the beginning of the letter are references to Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, and Bill C-18, the Online News Act. If passed, the CRTC will govern them, giving the regulatory body additional powers.

“Our leadership, and that of the CRTC more broadly, will be critical to ensuring that new legislation is implemented effectively,” the letter states. “Practical and workable regulations can ensure policy goals are met while maintaining Canadians’ online experience and ensuring everyone can participate in and benefit from an increasingly digital culture and society.”

The Ministers further state their concerns on a number of issues weighing the CRTC down, namely how long it takes the CRTC to make decisions, how accessible their practices are to the public, and transparency.

“Public interest decision making requires hearing from diverse interests. Right now, there is a perception among many that access to CRTC processes is unequal,” the Ministers write. “While the regulator’s open and evidence-based processes are a core strength, barriers to participation remain.”

The letter also states the CRTC should continue reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples by working together on policies that may affect them “in a spirit of recognition of rights, respect, co-operation, and partnership.”

The telecom industry also needs improvement, the letter states, and a proposed new policy direction for the organization will help guide them. Addressing competition and affordability, the Ministers say the CRTC should ensure wholesale internet services are “used, supervised, and adjusted effectively and in a timely manner.”

Wholesale internet services are something Eatrides has promised to change. In an interview with MobileSyrup, Eatrides said the CRTC will share a new model with Canadians “within the coming months.”

“It’s a top priority for the organization because what we’ve done is not working,” she said.

Source: Canadian Heritage 

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Mobile Syrup

Meta says it might block Canadians from sharing news stories on Facebook if Bill C-18 becomes law

METAVERSE META FACEBOOK. Silhouette of smartphone with Facebook, Messenger, whatsApp, Instagram, Oculus apps and blurred META logo on background. Rebrand of Facebook. Stafford, UK, October 28, 2021

Meta says the Liberal government’s pending Online News Act “misrepresents” the connection between platforms like itself and news publishers.

The federal government introduced Bill C-18 in April. It subjects digital platforms to pay news outlets to share their articles.

In a blog post, Facebook’s parent company Meta says current assumptions that Meta “unfairly benefits from its relationship with publishers” is untrue.

“We have repeatedly shared with the government that news content is not a draw for our users and is not a significant source of revenue for our company.”

Meta says they don’t scrape content or links related to news content. Less than three percent of what people see on their feeds is related to news articles. In turn, the company claims they help publishers who share links from their websites. This allows the content to reach a wider audience and leads to more readership, subscription sales, and advertising.

The company further says that if the bill becomes law, they might reconsider allowing Canadians to share news on Facebook. The act will force Meta to pay for news that publishers voluntarily add to the platform.

“We are being asked to acquiesce to a system that lets publishers charge us for as much content as they want to supply at a price with no clear limits,” Meta says. “No business can operate this way.”

The company says it was “surprised” not to be invited to participate in the study for the Online News Act and is urging the government to reconsider the bill.

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Source: Meta

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Mobile Syrup

Online streaming bill will generate $1 billion a year, Minister Rodriguez says

Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Monday the government’s proposed online streaming bill would create $1 billion a year for Canada’s creative sector.

The bill is looking into subjecting streaming services, like Netflix, to the same rules as Canadian broadcasters.

According to The Canadian Press, the figure is an increase from the original $830 million a year Rodriguez said the online streaming bill would bring in. The Minister said this is because more users have subscribed to streaming platforms since the Ministry made the original calculation.

The government first shared details on the bill in February.

The funds will go towards diverse programs, including Indigenous content and programming in French, he said.

“We will want to be able to hear more diverse voices. We want to hear Indigenous voices more. Maybe we can do it with a mandatory provision. Maybe we can find other ways to do so – and looking at official languages as well,” he said.

Source: The Canadian Press 

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Mobile Syrup

Canadians supportive of federal measures to regulate internet: survey

Canadian flag waving with Parliament Buildings hill in the background Ottawa,Ontario, Canada

The federal government has shared two legislations to regulate the internet, and recent survey results show most Canadians support the measures.

Commissioned by the Globe and Mail, the results show 55 percent of respondents support the government’s work to regulate the internet, 37 percent oppose it in some way, and 8 percent are unsure. Those against the regulations largely come from the Prairies.

The Online Streaming Act, also known as Bill C-11, was presented in February. It focuses on applying the same rules to streaming services as Canadian broadcasters. If passed, the act would also require streaming services to create Canadian content.

The bill has been met with harsh criticism from several parties.

YouTube’s chief business officer, Robert Kyncl, said the act could threaten Canadian content creators. In March, two creators who create content on TikTok, Darcy Michael and Oorbee Roy, raised similar concerns at a Canadian Heritage Committee meeting.

The second measure the government has taken to regulate the internet is the Online News Act. Known as Bill C-18, it would require digital giants, including Google and Meta, to pay Canadian news organizations for the content they display on their platforms.

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Source: Globe and Mail 

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Mobile Syrup

2022 budget gives CRTC $8.5 million for Bill C-18

The 2022 federal budget allocates millions to helping the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) establish a framework for Bill C-18.

Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, introduced the bill earlier this week. It’s aimed at having digital platforms, like Google and Meta, pay Canadian news outlets for using their content. The CRTC will serve as the regulator.

The budget will provide the agency with $8.5 million over two years. The funding will “establish a new legislative and regulatory regime to require digital platforms that generate revenues from the publication of news content to share a portion of their revenues with Canadian news outlets,” Cartt.ca reports.

2020 saw $9.7 billion in online ad revenues, and Google and Meta shared 80 percent of the profits.

“The news sector in Canada is in crisis, and this contributes to the heightened public mistrust and the rise of harmful disinformation in our society,” Rodriguez said Tuesday.

The bill is also known as the Online News Act. If passed, it will focus on deals between online platforms and news publications. The CRTC is responsible for tracking all details associated with the arrangements.

“This is fundamentally fairer for Canadian news media, which will be able to negotiate on more equal terms with the tech giants,” a press release by Canadian Heritage states.

This is the second bill Rodriguez introduced dealing with online content. The first is Bill C-11. It focuses on promoting Canadian content and governing streaming services. The CRTC will also serve as the regulator if the bill passes.

As Cartt.ca points out, Rodriguez previously stated the government would give the CRTC all the tools it needs to handle this bill. However, the 2022 budget doesn’t include any specific funding.

Source: Cartt.ca

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Mobile Syrup

Heritage Minister tables bill to make digital platforms pay news organizations

June 11, 2019, Brazil. In this photo illustration the Google News logo is displayed on a smartphone.

Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, has introduced Bill C-18, also known as the Online News Act, to ensure digital platforms pay Canadian news outlets for using their work.

At a press conference Tuesday, Rodriguez said the way people access news has changed with preference going to digital platforms and social media. The shift results in advertising dollars moving away from the news industry and towards platforms that gatekeep the news.

Online ad revenues in 2020 totalled $9.7 billion, and Google and Facebook shared 80 percent of these revenues.

“The news sector in Canada is in crisis, and this contributes to the heightened public mistrust and the rise of harmful disinformation in our society,” Rodriguez said.

The bargaining process

If passed, the legislation will require platforms to make deals with news organizations to share content. These deals will include several criteria, including compensating organizations fairly, respecting journalistic independence, and investing in diverse news outlets.

Newspapers and magazines, public and private broadcasters, and non-Canadian news businesses that meet the criteria can take part in the bargaining process.

“This is fundamentally fairer for Canadian news media, which will be able to negotiate on more equal terms with the tech giants,” a press release following Rodriguez’s announcement states.

Bargaining between the platform and the news business is mandatory unless they meet a list of exemptions. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) will be the regulator.

News organizations will receive support if a deal can’t be reached.

The need for transparency

To make the process transparent, Rodriguez said platforms that meet the criteria for payment, all exemptions granted, and names of participating news outlets will be made public. An annual report outlining the value of the deals made will also be published.

Regulatory tools will include a code of conduct to ensure fairness and an undue preference provision. The latter will ensure platforms that hold power in the market don’t engage in practices that negatively impact policy, organizations, or how Canadians receive news.

Some Canadian publishers have welcomed the news with open arms. News Media Canada, which represents 500 print and digital titles across Canada, says the bill was needed.

“Trusted information is needed more today than ever before, and real news reported by real journalists costs real money,” Jamie Irving, chair of News Media Canada, said. “This legislation levels the playing field and gives Canada’s news publishers a fair shot and doesn’t require additional taxpayer funds.”

What Australia taught Canada

News access was a problem in the last country that introduced similar legislation. Early last year, Australia passed an act forcing large digital platforms, like Google and Facebook, to pay publishers for the news accessed on those platforms.

Soon afterwards, however, Facebook blocked Australians from accessing news on the platform. At the time, former Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault said the actions wouldn’t deter Ottawa from continuing its pledge to pass a similar law in Canada.

Rodriguez said the model is similar to what was seen in Australia and includes feedback from stakeholders.

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