Bill C-18 – also known as the Online News Act – received royal assent on Thursday afternoon, meaning that large tech platforms will soon be forced to share more of their revenues with news outlets.
But the tech companies that the government seeks to regulate remain committed to plans to remove news content from their platforms in order to move outside of the Act’s purview.
The Online News Act is meant to give news outlets a more fair share of revenues generated by digital ads, the vast majority of which currently goes to major tech platforms like Google and Meta. The bill attempts to achieve this by setting out parameters for bargaining between outlets and platforms to determine fair compensation, including giving the CRTC the right to impose arbitration if a deal cannot be met.
Shannon Lewis, President of the Canadian Media Directors Council, said: “it is crucial that we strike a balance that benefits both publishers and platforms, and that all stakeholders benefit with a fair and equitable value exchange. The ultimate purpose of this legislation is to invest in the newsroom and journalists, but smaller publishers may not receive sufficient investment to drive innovation and attract talent.” She said that the CMDC, through its Canadian Media Manifesto, would remain engaged with the bill’s implementation process.