Commentary
The long-anticipated showdown between Canada and Google on Bill C-18 is nigh. When the imaginary pistols are drawn, and the invisible bullets are fired, the reputation of this country could be shattered beyond reproach.
Bill C-18, or an Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada, was first tabled by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals last June. The proposed bill would establish a “framework through which digital news intermediary operators and news businesses may enter into agreements respecting news content that is made available by digital news intermediaries.”
In other words, information technology companies like Google, Meta, Apple, and Microsoft would be forced to share any and all revenues of Canadian-based news stories they post on their websites with the original news publishers and media organizations.
Bill C-18 was passed in the House of Commons on Dec. 14, 2022. The legislation is currently at consideration in committee in the Senate. If it passes this penultimate stage, it will go to a third and final reading.
Unsurprisingly, Google has been thoroughly displeased with Ottawa during this entire process. They temporarily blocked access to readily available news stories on their platform for some Canadians earlier this year. Google has suggested they may establish a permanent block if the Liberals go ahead with this plan. They’re still undecided about this strategy, and negotiations between both sides remain ongoing.
“We think there’s a better model. We have not reached the final decision as to what business actions we might have to take,” Kent Walker, president of global affairs and chief legal officer at Google’s parent company, Alphabet, recently told the parliamentary heritage committee during a video appearance. “This is not the path that C-18 is currently on, but it’s not too late, and we do want to work with Canadian parliamentarians to get this legislation right.”
Google, for their part, suggested creating a fund they would contribute to but would be “independently governed.” It’s not a perfect solution by any means, but certainly a whole lot better than the federal government forcing legislation down everyone’s throats to pay the social media piper, if nothing else.
And while Google is far from a perfect entity, it’s not difficult to understand their frustration with respect to the Trudeau government’s farcical revenue-sharing plan.
Bill C-18 is similar to placing a tax (of sorts) on companies like Google with respect to news availability and consumption. It’s completely unnecessary, and makes no sense when you consider how easy it is to get news for free on the internet.
Here’s an easy example. There have been individuals, companies, and small media groups that have poached news articles, columns, book reviews, and more from the original news providers for decades. These items are regularly placed on their websites without asking for permission. Some do it as a supposed public service, while others charge a small fee. Will Ottawa use Bill C-18 to go after these faceless and nameless entities? Of course not. They’ll just focus their time, energies, and resources on larger organizations that they can readily name and attempt to shame in public.
Meanwhile, Google Vice-President of News Richard Gingras told the same parliamentary committee that the current form of Bill C-18 “would make Canada the first country in the world to put a price on free links to webpages, setting a dangerous precedent that is contrary to the long-term interests of both Canadian readers and Canada’s independent press.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Many Canadians have expressed frustration and exasperation with totalitarian nations and rogue states that have controlled the news consumption of its citizens. This includes limitations, restrictions, lack of a free press and/or editorial independence, and historical revisionism in print, radio, TV, and the internet. Some examples include China, Russia and the old Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Iraq (under the tyrannical Saddam Hussein).
It’s hard to believe that Canada could join this rogues’ list if Bill C-18 becomes a reality. What makes it even worse is we’re a democracy, and they’re not.
Trudeau and the Liberals would be wise to either put the kibosh on Bill C-18, or come up with a more sound strategy in dealing with powerful tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Meta. The bill’s current structure would do plenty of harm and absolutely no good. If they do nothing, an important and regular outlet for getting daily news could potentially be lost to all Canadians.
At the very least, Ottawa should get out of the way and let news providers and media organizations make their own private arrangements with Google and others. If they want to, that is—and without the government telling them what to do.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
