Google on Thursday became the latest Silicon Valley company to block Canadian users from viewing local news on its platform after Ottawa approved a bill to make tech companies pay for such content.
The Online News Act became law last week, aimed at supporting a struggling Canadian news sector that has seen hundreds of publications close over the past decade.
It requires digital companies to enter into fair trade deals with Canadian outlets for news and information shared on their platforms, or face binding arbitration.
In a statement, Google said the new law is “unenforceable” and the government has given no reason to believe “structural problems with the legislation” will be resolved during its implementation.
In a blog post, Google added that “it will be harder for Canadians to find news online” and “for journalists to reach their audiences”.
However, people in the country will still be able to access news from Canadian sites by typing their respective web addresses directly into a browser or through apps.
Google’s announcement comes after last talks with the government to bring the company on board failed.
Tech giant Meta announced last Thursday that it too would block Canadian news on Facebook and Instagram.
Both companies, which dominate online advertising, have been accused of siphoning cash from traditional news outlets while using their content for free.
Google said, “We have informed the government that we have made the difficult decision to… remove links to Canadian news from our search, news and discovery products and will now continue to operate the Google News Showcase in Canada.” will no longer be eligible,” Google said.
“The loss of revenue from newsrooms in Canada is not just a problem for the journalists who are affected, it’s a problem for the entire country,” said Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, a former journalist.
“For a strong culture, a healthy society, healthy politics, we need great, well-paid journalists,” he said.
An October 2022 report by Canada’s parliamentary budget watchdog estimated that the Online News Act would see Canadian newspapers receive about $330 million a year from digital platforms.
Canada’s measure builds on Australia’s New Media Bargaining Code, the first in the world, to pay Google and Meta for news content on its platforms.
AFP signed a five-year deal with Google at the end of 2021 over rights to neighboring countries to pay the internet giant for the news agency’s content.
He also signed two commercial agreements with the platform.
