Google Doesn't Want To Pay Websites For Content, So It's Blocking News In Canada

Google is following Facebook's example and is threatening to ban access to news in Canada unless lawmakers pass a law that forces tech companies to pay publishers for their content.

This week, the tech giant began temporarily restricting access to new test results, which have affected about 4% of randomly selected users in Canada. According to CBC, Google's partial suspension will last five weeks and will affect both web search and Discover on Android devices. A Google spokesman confirmed the tests in an email to Gizmodo.

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"We are testing potential product reactions to Bill C-18 for a short period, which affects a very small portion of Canadian users," the spokesman said. "We conduct thousands of tests each year to assess potential changes in research."

This blackmailing decision is a direct response to the Online News Bill C-18 currently being debated by members of the Canadian Parliament.

Introduced last spring, the bill would have required Google, Facebook and other internet companies to pay news publishers if their content was reproduced. Like similar Australian legislation, the bill would subject companies like Google to binding arbitration if they refuse to pay publishers. Supporters of the effort, like Canada's Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, say they will provide fair compensation for a news industry currently "in crisis". Google, on the other hand, claims the bill is a "merger fee."

"We have been fully transparent with our concerns that C-18 is so broad and if it doesn't change, it could impact the products Canadians use and trust every day," said a Google spokesperson. "We remain committed to supporting a sustainable future for news in Canada and providing solutions that fix Bill C-18."

Sabrina Jeremiah, vice president and chief executive officer of Google Canada, explained the company's position in a blog post last year, saying the bill could fundamentally change the way Canadians access the internet.

"The ability to freely connect websites is essential for the functioning of the internet," Sabrina Jeremiah, vice president and chief executive officer of Google Canada, said after the bill was announced last year. Canadians expect to be able to access any content available on the internet when searching for information. Link fees could limit Canadians' access to information they trust. »

The bill could cost Google, a trillion-dollar company, millions. A pricing report released last fall by Canada's Office of the Household Treasurer estimated that Google and Facebook would pay news publishers about C$329.2 (or about $242.99) annually. According to the report, these funds will cover around 30% of publishers' total editorial costs. In the fourth quarter of last year alone, Google's search revenue was $42.60 billion.

However, Canadian lawmakers don't seem ready to back down just yet. In a statement to the Wall Street Journal , Rodriguez's spokesman said Canadian lawmakers promised to pressure Google to offer more transparency and accountability.

Meta flexed its muscles last year, warning Canadian officials that if C-18 passes as currently written, it could end data link sharing in Canada (as it did in Australia a year ago). In a blog post, Meta said the bill "represents the relationship between platforms and news publishers" and wrongly assumes that Meta is unfairly benefiting from the growth of low-paid journalists. Additionally, the company said news articles make up less than 3% of what users see in their Facebook feeds. With over 2 billion daily active users worldwide, that 3% figure is still newsworthy.

All of this political maneuvering by Google and Meta was actually made possible by Meta, aka Facebook, which called the Australian hoax in 2021 due to disagreements with similar laws requiring tech companies to pay news publishers. Facebook has stopped sharing data in the country, leaving around 17 million users struggling to figure out what happened. Australia's Treasury Secretary Josh Frydenberg accused the company of "endangering public safety" by restricting access to data during the pandemic. Ultimately, Facebook caved in after reaching a more favorable settlement with the Canadian government

We don't yet know how ready Google is to fight back in Canada. Like Meta, Google has previously threatened to ban Australia from searches, but never followed through. Canadian officials appear poised to respond, at least for now. Canadian Heritage Minister Rodriguez said in a statement that she was disappointed by Google's decision to follow Facebook, but that Canadians "will not be intimidated".

"All we ask of the tech giants is to compensate journalists for using their work," Rodriguez's rep told The Wall Street Journal . "Tech giants need to be more transparent and accountable to Canadians."

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