Google granted exemption from requirements of Online News Act

Alphabet Inc.’s Google will be exempt from the requirements of the Online News Act for five years, the CRTC has decided. The ultimate goal of the act, which passed into law in June 2023, is to facilitate fair commercial agreements between Canadian news organizations and major online platforms, including search engines and social media sites. Having been granted an exemption, Google will not be forced to negotiate deals with news businesses and can avoid penalties associated with violating that provision of the act. Google applied for an exemption back in June, following an announcement that it had made a deal with the Canadian Journalism Collective (CJC) to distribute its $100 million annual contribution to news organizations. Google stated that by holding an open call for organizations that wish to receive a share of the funds, selecting the CJC as the bargaining group it would deal with, and coming to an agreement that would see the CJC equitably distribute the money, it should be granted a five-year exemption from the mandatory bargaining requirements of the Online News Act. The company said the money for the fund “will come into effect on the date the exemption is granted.” The CRTC said the exemption order comes into effect Oct. 28 and will remain in effect for five years, as long as there is still an agreement between Google and the CJC. Google has 60 days to pay its contribution to the CJC. The CRTC has ordered Google to work with the CJC to make sure there is a mechanism in place requiring the collective to admit new businesses looking for a share of the funds on an annual basis, as long as they are eligible under the Act. While Google opted to create a media fund to be exempted from the Online News Act, Meta Platforms, Inc. opted to block news content in Canada in order to escape being subject to the legislation. Other tech giants like X (formerly Twitter), Microsoft, and Apple are currently not subject to the Online News Act given the legislation applies to large platforms with “a significant bargaining power imbalance” with news businesses. It was in the summer of 2023 when Meta, which owns social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, ended access to news from Canadian and international outlets to users within Canada. But Meta’s attempts to remove itself from the ONA’s net might be in vain since the CRTC is investigating the platform’s compliance with the legislation. “ CRTC has been made aware of reports that news content from Canadian news outlets continues to be available on Meta’s platforms in Canada,” wrote the commission to Meta on Oct. 4. The CRTC gave Meta a deadline of Oct. 18 to respond to how the platform is complying with the ONA, and to confirm whether news is still being made available to users in this country. The CRTC also put out a tender notice earlier in October seeking an independent auditor to prepare an annual report of the Act's impact on “the Canadian digital news marketplace.” On Oct. 8, the CRTC launched public consultations on the proposed code of conduct that will “help ensure online platforms and news organizations bargain in good faith and make informed decisions during negotiations.” hdaley@thewirereport.ca - With files from Sophall Duch and Phalen Tynes-MacDonald

Google granted exemption from requirements of Online News Act

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By Hannah Daley
| October 28, 2024

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Google granted exemption from requirements of Online News Act

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