Google will remove links to Canadian news when Bill C-18 comes into effect.
In a blog post, Google called the Online News Act (Bill C-18) “unworkable.”
“The Government has not given us reason to believe that the regulatory process will be able to resolve structural issues with the legislation,” the post reads.
“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.”
The bill received royal assent last week and forces tech companies like Google to pay Canadian publishers for their content. The government hasn’t shared a date for when the bill will go into effect.
Google said it made the decision after the government failed to accept any of the “reasonable and balanced amendments” it made.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) will govern the bill.
The company hopes the final legislation will bring “a viable path.”
“Otherwise, we remain concerned that Bill C-18 will make it harder for Canadians to find news online, make it harder for journalists to reach their audiences, and reduce valuable free web traffic to Canadian publishers.”
The news follows a similar message to Meta, another company that will be legislated under the act. Earlier this week, the company confirmed it would block news on its platforms.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Source: Google
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