Tech giant Google is following Meta’s lead following the passage of the Online News Act, Bill C-18, in Canada. Google will remove links to Canadian news in their Google Search, News and Discover products and they will shut down Google News Showcase in the country.

“Bill C-18 has become law and remains unworkable. The Government has not given us reason to believe that the regulatory process will be able to resolve structural issues with the legislation,” said Kent Walker, president of global affairs for Google and Alphabet, in a June 29 announcement. “As a result, we have informed the Government that we have made the difficult decision that when the law takes effect we will be removing links to Canadian news from our Search, News, and Discover products and will no longer be able to operate Google News Showcase in Canada.”

“We’re disappointed it has come to this. We don’t take this decision or its impact lightly and believe it’s important to be transparent with Canadian publishers and our users as early as possible,” Walker added.

Since February, Google has been testing a tool to block news in Canada, according to The Verge. The tech giant had tried working with the Canadian government to find a way forward together while avoiding “an outcome no one wants,” but it does not appear that a compromise has been reached. They said they have appeared before committees, offered feedback and proposed solutions over the last year, but the Canadian government has not addressed any of their concerns in the legislation.

“Every step of the way, we’ve proposed thoughtful and pragmatic solutions that would have improved the bill and cleared the path for us to increase our already significant investments in the Canadian news ecosystem,” Google said. “So far, none of our concerns have been addressed. Bill C-18 is about to become law and remains unworkable.”

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Already supporting journalism in Canada

Part of Google’s reasoning from removing Canadian news from Google Search and their other products is that they already pay to support journalism in Canada through various programs and partnerships. For example, Google said they have negotiated with more than 150 publishers across the country through its Google News Showcase program. They say they have linked to Canadian news publications more than 3.6 billion times and the referral traffic generates about $250 million (Canadian dollars) a year.

“We’re willing to do more; we just can’t do it in a way that breaks the way that the web and search engines are designed to work, and that creates untenable product and financial uncertainty,” said Walker.

Google also said they are concerned that the Online News Act will make it more difficult for Canadians to find news online, make it harder for journalists to reach their target audiences, and will reduce free web traffic publishers in Canada receive from Google Search.

Meta to remove Canadian news from platforms

Meta has taken a similar stance, confirming last week they will begin removing news from Facebook and Instagram from Canadian users. The process will take several months and should be complete by the time C-18 takes effect in about six months. In anticipation of the passage of the Online News Act, Canada has been testing this process.

“We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18, passed today in Parliament, content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be available to people accessing our platforms in Canada,” Meta said in a June 22, 2023 statement. “The changes affecting news content will not otherwise impact Meta’s products and services in Canada.” 

Insider Take

While Google has a slightly different take on the Online News Act than Meta, the principle is the same – they aren’t willing to “pay to play.” In Meta’s case, they are removing news from Canadian publishers from Facebook and Instagram. Google is taking it a step further by removing Canadian news from Google Search, News and Discover, and they will shut down Google News Showcase in Canada.

What type of an impact will have this on Canadian publishers and their news consumers? Is Google playing chicken with the Canadian government and Canadian news publishers, or do they intend to follow through with their threats? It looks like everyone loses here.

Copyright © 2023 Authority Media Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.