Liberals announce 'expected cost' of revenue-sharing deals under Bill C-18
According to government officials, Google and Facebook would owe publications $172 million and $62 million annually to Canadian publications, undercutting the Parliamentary Budget Officer's (PBO) $329 million estimate last year.
The federal government unveiled the expected cost of revenue-sharing agreements between tech giants and news publishers as part of the draft regulations for Bill C-18, the Online News Act.
According to government officials, Google and Facebook would owe publications $172 million and $62 million annually to Canadian publications, undercutting the Parliamentary Budget Officer's (PBO) $329 million estimate last year.
However, those numbers are subject to change upon further consultations with the parties who buy in on Bill C-18, reported the National Post.
As of writing, Google and Meta have yet to reconsider their stance on bailing out the media.
Google has told Heritage Canada it's still assessing whether its regulatory concerns have been addressed, and the latter remains unmoved on its Canadian news ban that went into effect on August 1.
Among the new regulations introduced on September 1 also include additional details on legislative exemptions for tech companies that seek out their own revenue-sharing deals without the government acting as an arbiter.
Those deals include monetary and non-monetary contributions that could mean lesser monies owed to publishers.
Explaining Bill C-18 and Trudeau's wide-ranging plans to destroy Canadian free speech
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) July 15, 2023
This episode originally aired on April 6, 2023.@EzraLevant explained the potential impact of Bill C-18, the Online News Act. Just like C-11 makes social media companies broadcasters for… pic.twitter.com/iIJA1IAJq9
During a technical briefing, the feds calculated the revenue-sharing payments by multiplying the global revenue with the Canadian share of global GDP, multiplied by a contribution rate of 4%.
They did not clarify what they considered "global revenues" on Friday. However, they said voluntary deals must be within 20% of the average compensation reached under legislation.
A chief concern echoed for months by Meta and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, includes the lack of a cap on how much they would owe news publishers.
Paul Deegan, CEO of News Media Canada, said at "first pass, the regulations appear fair and balanced to both publishers and platforms. It gives everyone clarity and predictability, which we have been calling for and welcome."
The draft regulations are now open for a 30-day consultation before being finalized.
The government contends the deals must include "collectives of certain size representing independent local, Indigenous and official language minority community news businesses." Smaller, independent media have been the hardest hit by Meta's news ban.
The tech behemoth maintains that regardless of the regulations implemented by the end of the year, the legislation itself is the problem.
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) contends it will take until the summer of 2024 to publish draft regulations and as late as 2025 before the Act is enforced.https://t.co/aTXqzRvzTX
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) August 25, 2023
On Friday, the company said it would not cease censoring Canadian news despite some cost certainty.
"As the legislation is based on the incorrect assertion that Meta benefits unfairly from the news content shared on our platforms, today's proposed regulations will not impact our business decision to end news availability in Canada," Rachel Curran, head of public policy for Meta Canada said in a statement.
She called the regulatory process ill-equipped to address the "fundamentally flawed premise of the Online News Act."
Tech rival Google has remained more open to compromise during the regulatory debate but contends it will follow Meta's example if its concerns are not addressed.
A Google spokesperson said the company is "carefully reviewing the proposed regulations to assess whether they resolve the serious structural issues with C-18 that regrettably were not dealt with during the legislative process."
They said it would take time for Google to come to a final decision.
A federal official said the government is "looking forward to engaging with [Meta and Google constructively] in the weeks ahead on the proposed approach."
Don't Get Censored
Big Tech is censoring us. Sign up so we can always stay in touch.