Ottawa will ensure newsrooms have the resources they need if Google, Meta block news: Rodriguez
If Google and Meta remove news from their platforms in response to Bill C-18, Canada’s heritage minister says the Liberal government will make sure newsrooms have the necessary resources for journalists to continue their work.
Liberal government’s Online News Act became law last week
Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says he┬аhopes the Liberal government can find a positive outcome with Google and Meta.
But if the companies remove news from their platforms in response to Bill C-18, he says, the Liberal government will make sure newsrooms have the resources they need to allow┬аjournalists to continue their work.
The government’s Online News Act became law last week. The law requires┬аGoogle and Meta to pay media outlets for news content they share or otherwise repurpose on their platforms.
Meta says it will comply with the law by removing news from its Facebook and Instagram platforms by the end of the year.┬аGoogle has hinted that removing news from their search engine is a possibility.
Rodriguez says he recently had a constructive but tough conversation with Google, which has been seeking more clarity on the bill.
He wouldn’t say how his government will ensure newsrooms have resources, but he says every option is on the table.
