MONTRÉAL, Québec (CU)_Canada on Thursday (Feb 18) pledged to make Facebook pay for news content, and sought allies in the media battle with tech giants. Detailing the Canadian government’s approach to make Facebook pay for news content published on the platform, Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault noted that Ottawa would not back down even if the social media platform shuts off the country’s news as it did in Australia.
Facebook on Thursday blocked all Australian news content on its service over proposed legislation requiring the firm, along with Google, to pay for news sourced from local media outlets. Denouncing the move, Minister Guilbeault noted that it would not deter Ottawa from crafting a similar legislation, which will be unveiled in the coming months.
“Canada is at the forefront of this battle,” he said. “[…] we are really among the first group of countries around the world that are doing this.”
According to Guilbeault, Canada could adopt a model similar to that of Australia, which would provide Google and Facebook the opportunity to negotiate payments with local publishers and broadcasters for content included in search results or news feeds. If the parties fail to strike a deal, this would lead a government-appointed arbitrator to decide the price.
On the other hand, the Minister noted, Canada may follow the example of France, which requires tech giants to initiate discussions with publishers which seek remuneration for their news content.
“We are working to see which model would be the most appropriate,” he said.
Guilbeault further noted that many other countries are expected to adopt similar rules, adding that he spoke to his Australian, French, German and Finnish counterparts last week, about working together in order to ensure fair compensation for publishers for their news content.
“I suspect that soon we will have five, ten, fifteen countries adopting similar rules,” he noted. “[…] is Facebook going to cut ties with Germany, with France?”
This week, Facebook said that although news makes up less than 4 per cent of content people view on its platform, however, it enabled publishers generate about AU$407 million last year.
Meanwhile, Google has signed deals worth around US$1 billion over three years with publishers around the world, under which the media outlets will be paid a licensing fee for the news extracts that will appear on its News Showcase product. It is reported that the tech giant is currently having discussions with Canadian companies for similar deals.
