Google could be forced to remove links to news articles found in search results in Canada if the government succeeds in passing a law forcing Internet companies to pay media outlets, a company executive told parliamentarians on Wednesday .
Canada’s proposed legislation would force platforms like Google parent Alphabet Inc and Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc to negotiate commercial deals and pay Canadian media for their content, part of a trend broader challenge of making tech companies pay for information.
“The extreme level of business uncertainty and unlimited financial liability that Google is being asked to accept…is not reasonable,” Google Vice President of Information Richard Gingras said during ‘testimony before a Senate committee.
“If we have to pay publishers simply to link to their sites, causing us to lose money with every click, it would be reasonable for us, or any business, to reconsider why we would continue to do so,” he said. he added.
Ottawa’s proposal is similar to a groundbreaking law passed by Australia in 2021, which 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 approved more than 30 deals with media outlets, paying them for traffic generating content.
(Reporting by Sam Jabri-Pickett in Toronto, additional reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa)
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