Google could be forced to remove links to news articles found in search results in Canada if the government can pass a law requiring internet companies to pay media outlets, a company executive told lawmakers on Wednesday.
Canada’s proposed legislation would force platforms such as Google’s parent Alphabet Inc and Facebook’s parent Meta Platforms Inc to negotiate trade deals and pay Canadian news outlets for their content, as part of a broader global trend of corporate tech companies paying for news.
“The extreme level of business uncertainty and unlimited financial liability that Google is being asked to accept … is unreasonable,” Google vice president of information Richard Gingras said during a briefing. testimony before a Senate committee.
“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.
Ottawa’s proposal is similar to groundbreaking legislation passed by Australia in 2021 that also sparked threats from Google and Facebook to cut their services. Both ended up striking deals with Australian media companies after amendments to the legislation were proposed.
Since the Australian law came into effect, tech companies have made more than 30 deals with media outlets, compensating them for content-generating traffic.
(Reporting by Sam Jabri-Pickett in Toronto, Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Ismail Shakil)
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