Google is fighting another regulatory fight, but this time it’s not about Fake News PL. A platform official told lawmakers that if the Canadian government passes a law requiring internet companies to pay media outlets, the site could be forced to remove links to news articles from search results in Canada.

The move is part of a global trend that tech companies are being made to pay for news content. The proposed Canadian law includes the mandatory negotiation of commercial agreements between platforms such as Alphabet Inc, parent company of Google, and Meta Platforms Inc, parent company of Facebook, and Canadian media outlets.

What Google said in Google Parliament

Google vice president of news Richard Gingras in testimony before a Senate committee said the extreme level of business uncertainty and unlimited financial liability the platform is being asked to accept is unreasonable.

“If we have to pay publishers just to link to their sites, which makes us lose money with every click, it would be reasonable for us, or any business, to reconsider why we would continue to do so,” he added.

The idea presented in Ottawa has similarities to a groundbreaking law passed in Australia in 2021. This measure taken by the southern country also provoked threats from the companies Google and Facebook, which planned to reduce the offer of their services.

However, the two companies ended up reaching agreements with Australian media companies following proposed amendments to the legislation. Since this law came into force in Australia, more than 30 agreements have been approved by technology companies with communication vehicles, which have been duly compensated for content generation traffic, thus facilitating this brand new situation generated by regulatory measures.