The Canadian Liberal government passed the Online News Act last year, which essentially forces tech giants like Google and Meta to pay Canadian publishers in exchange for access to sharing their content on their respective social platforms.
Now, with the rise of AI-powered chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s CoPilot and Google’s Gemini, which display Canadian publishers’ work in their search results, the question arises if they should also be negotiating licensing agreements with Canadian news publishers to use their content.
The government has remained tight-lipped on the issue, however, according to a recent The Globe and Mail report Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge’s office acknowledges the grey area, saying that the decision ultimately falls on the CRTC. “We are closely monitoring developments in artificial intelligence and their implications for the news media sector,” the office said in a statement.
Elsewhere, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave an indirect answer when questioned about AI chatbots falling under the Online News Act last at a New York Times technology podcast. “What I want is not for government to legislate what platforms should do or not do, because that’s a recipe for disaster. We all know how slow governments end up working…But can we put the onus of leadership and responsibility that goes with it increasingly on platforms – around journalism, around protection of free speech, but also protection against hate speech? Can we find those balances?” said Trudeau.
Google’s Gemini will reportedly be exempted from negotiating, considering that Google has already made a deal with Ottawa to contribute $100 million to the news industry annually.
Meta, on the other hand, suggests that its Meta AI should remain exempt from the Online News Act because it picks up information from sources not restricted by the act. “In Canada, Meta AI draws from sources across the web that are not restricted by this legislation to address questions and provides sources for those results from our search engine partners,” said Meta, according to The Globe and Mail. Microsoft-backed OpenAI has remained tight-lipped on the matter.
These companies have openly admitted to using Canadian news content to train their models, alongside showing said content in response to user queries.
Tech companies had until last week to inform the CRTC if the Online News Act applies to any of their platforms. The list is yet to be released.
Source: The Globe and Mail
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
