The company said Wednesday that it is temporarily limiting access to news content for under four percent of its Canadian users as it assesses possible responses to the bill. The change applies to its ubiquitous search engine as well as the Discover feature on Android devices, which carries news and sports stories.
All types of news content are being affected by the test, which will run for about five weeks, the company said. That includes content created by Canadian broadcasters and newspapers.
The company runs thousands of tests each year to assess any potential changes to its search engine, he added.
“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,” Purdy said.
Last year, that company threatened to block news off its site in response to the bill.
“Canadians need to have access to quality, fact-based news at the local and national levels, and that’s why we introduced the Online News Act. Tech giants need to be more transparent and accountable to Canadians.”
Rodriguez has argued the bill, which is similar to a law that Australia passed in 2021, will “enhance fairness” in the digital news marketplace by creating a framework and bargaining process for online behemoths to pay media outlets.
The company has said it would rather pay into a fund, similar to the Canada Media Fund, that would pay news publishers indirectly.
The bill passed the House of Commons in December and is set to be studied in the Senate in the coming months.