Liberal bill requiring Google and Meta to pay for news content passes Senate

A federal account requiring Google and Meta to pay media outlets for news content they share or otherwise reuse on their platforms becomes law.

The Senate has account in a final vote and it now awaits royal assent amid a stalemate between the Liberal government and technology giants in Silicon Valley.

Ottawa has said the law creates a level playing field between online advertising giants and the shrinking news industry. And Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has pledged to push back on what he describes as “threats” from Facebook and Google to remove journalism from their platforms.

Meta confirmed Thursday that it plans to comply with the account by ending the availability of news on Facebook and Instagram to its Canadian users as previously proposed.

Meta would not provide details on the timeline for that move, but said it will pull local news from its site before the online news law goes into effect. The account enters into force six months after its royal approval.

“We have shared that repeatedly to comply with that Account Passed in parliament today, C-18 content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be available to people visiting our platforms in Canada,” said Meta spokesperson Scott Reid.

Rodriguez met with both Facebook and Google this week, but his department did not disclose details.

Spokeswoman Laura Scaffidi said the minister would meet again with Google on Thursday afternoon, hinting that removing news links from the popular search engine is a possibility. The company did not comment on the matter.

Meta is already undergoing a test blocking news for up to five percent of its Canadian users, and Google conducted a similar test earlier this year.

The Online News Act requires both companies to enter into agreements with news publishers to pay them for news content that appears on their sites if it helps the tech giants make money.

“After royal approval of Account C-18, the government will initiate a regulatory and implementation process,” said Scaffidi.

“The tech giants have no obligations under the law immediately afterwards Account C-18 passes. As part of this process, all details will be made public before any tech giant is designated under the law.”