By Canadian Press

Feds try to avoid Australian pitfalls in online news bill

Apr 6, 2022 | 1:30 PM

OTTAWA — The Canadian government says it is learning from Australia’s experience when it comes to requiring online giants to pay news outlets to use their content.

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez on Tuesday introduced a bill modelled on an Australian law making digital platforms such as Google compensate Canadian media outlets for reusing their news content. 

Australia’s law prompted Facebook to introduce a temporary ban on Australians viewing and sharing news.

Federal officials say they have studied Australia’s version of the law and are taking a more hands-off approach with less power for ministers and more decisions handed to an independent regulator.

They say Canada’s bill is more transparent too and will give digital companies freedom to strike private deals with papers and other media outlets. 

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But experts say Canada’s bill is more heavy-handed than Australia’s in some respects and covers audiovisual news content, unlike in Australia.

Michael Geist, the University of Ottawa’s Canada Research Chair in internet and e-commerce law, predicts Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, and Google will fiercely resist efforts to make them pay for links to news sites posted on their platforms. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2022. 

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The Canadian Press