Alphabet’s Google has reached an agreement with the Canadian government over a law that requires the company to pay for news. In a press release, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, informed this Wednesday (11/29) that the company will provide 74 million US dollars (approximately 360 million reais) in the form of annual financial support, indexed to inflation, for the country’s communications companies.
“After weeks of productive discussions, I am pleased to announce that we have found a path forward with Google to implement the Online News Act,” said St-Onge. The purpose of the law is to force Aimowner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and Google pay publishers in the country so they can host news on their platforms.
When Bill C-18, or the Online Information Act, was passed in June, Google even said it would block the information. The company also expressed concerns about “serious structural issues with the C-18 that were not resolved during the legislative process.” The company called the project a “connection tax.” He also said the measure “breaks the way the web and search engines have worked for over 30 years.”
Since August, Facebook and Instagram news links have been blocked by Meta in Canada.
“Typical zombieaholic. General twitter fanatic. Food fanatic. Gamer. Unapologetic analyst.”