Google has reached an agreement with the Canadian government, putting an end to the standoff over a contentious law, C-18, which mandates digital platforms to compensate news publishers.
This deal emerges after Google initially threatened to block all news content produced in Canada on its platforms.
The agreement stipulates that Google will pay $100 million CAD annually into a fund, which will then be distributed among publishers.
Additionally, Google will have the option to work with a collective to allocate these payments to eligible news businesses based on the number of journalists they employ.
While the specifics of the arrangement remain unclear pending the final regulations’ publication, Google’s President of Global Affairs, Kent Walker, expressed satisfaction with the government’s commitment to address concerns with C-18.
He highlighted ongoing collaboration during the exemption process and pledged to continue directing traffic to Canadian publishers.
Unlike Meta, which chose to remove news content from its platforms in Canada in response to C-18, Google opted for negotiations, resulting in this agreement.
Notably, Google’s financial contributions under this deal are 41% lower than the previously suggested threshold for exemption from C-18, raising questions about Meta’s stance.
The provision allowing Google to work with a collective addresses one of the company’s primary objections to the law.
It also resolves Google’s criticism of having to pay publishers based on individual article links, although specifics on this aspect remain undisclosed.
The impact of this agreement on similar legislative proposals worldwide remains uncertain, but its outcomes with Google could influence the direction of those policies.
Source-CNN
