Google conducts news-blocking test in Canada in potential response to revenue sharing bill

The Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, has said it was a “terrible mistake” for Google’s parent company, Alphabet, to block news content in the country. The tech giant started blocking the said content as it reacted to a government bill compelling it to pay publishers in Canada for news content published on the platform.

Canada’s Prime Minister bashes Google for blocking news content

Earlier this week, Google announced that it would be testing a feature by blocking the access of some Canadian users to news content. The tech giant could be testing this feature in response to the “Online News Act” bill expected to be signed into law.

Trudeau reacted to the blocking while speaking to reporters in Toronto. The Canadian Prime Minister said that Google’s blocking of news in the country was “bothering him.” He noted that the tech giant had opted to limit access to news content instead of paying the journalists that created the news.

“It really surprises me that Google has decided that they’d rather prevent Canadians from accessing news than actually paying journalists for the work they do,” Trudeau said. “I think that’s a terrible mistake and I know Canadians expect journalists to be well paid for the work they do.”

The bill under contention is known as the “Online News Act.” The bill was introduced last year by the Trudeau Liberal government. It comprises guidelines for platforms such as Google and Meta’s Facebook, urging these platforms to negotiate commercial deals while also paying news publishers for the content they publish on the platforms.

Facebook raises concerns about the bill

Google is not the only tech giant that is opposed to these guidelines. Facebook has also raised concerns about the legislation and warned that it could be forced to block news-sharing on the platform.

The head of media partnerships at Meta Canada, Marc Dinsdale, noted that the bill misrepresented the relationship between news publishers and platforms. The platform could be forced to block news sharing in Canada.

“In the face of adverse legislation based on false assumptions that defy the logic of how Facebook operates, we believe it’s important to be transparent about the possibility that we may be forced to reconsider allowing news content sharing in Canada,” Dinsdale said.

In December, this bill passed Canada’s House of Commons. The bill is currently in the unelected upper chamber of parliament. In most cases, the upper house does not block legislation passed by the lower house.

The bill seeks to support the Canadian news industry that has advocated for regulating tech companies. The news industry has complained about a drop in revenues while online platforms like Facebook and Google continue to increase their market share of online advertising income.

The proposal made in Canada is similar to the legislation Australia passed in 2021. This legislation also raised threats by Facebook and Google to block services in the country. However, the two tech giants reached a compromise with media companies in the country after several amendments were made to the bill.