The federal government has released a list of “next steps” it will take with the Online News Act (Bill C-18).
The proposed regulations include capping how much platforms like Google and Meta will have to pay to share Canadian news content.
The news follows a tumultuous week that saw the federal government pull advertising from Meta’s platforms. The move came after the digital giant said it would stop Canadians from accessing news content on its platforms after C-18 received royal assent on June 22nd. Google also said it would remove Canadian news links from Search, News, and Discover.
Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez also plans to consider existing agreements platforms have with news businesses, the background document states.
Rodriguez said the government is currently working on a draft regulation, which will be available for public consultation. “Once finalized, the regulations will make clear which platforms are captured by the Online News Act and what the agreements negotiated between news businesses and platforms must do to get an exemption.”
While Rodriguez has yet to share a specific date for when the act will go into effect, he did say it won’t be later than six months after June 22nd.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Source: Canadian Heritage
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.
