In Ottawa, the debate about Bill C-18 is raging.
Recently, Google began “testing” a system to restrict access to news across its platforms, but nobody is fooled, this is a warning to show the government how powerful the company is.
The Culture of Freedom
For the past 10 years or so, the giants of the Internet have carved out a place among the news and information sources for Canadians.
Last year’s NETendance survey found that 67% of 18-24 year old Quebecers and 50% of 24-34 year olds used social media as the “most common” source of information. However, most of these networks are completely free, which means that much of the information that 18-34 year olds consume does not cost them a penny.
The free consumption of information has given many users the impression that news does not cost anything.
I would be interested to know how many Quebecers today pay to subscribe to a newspaper, news magazine or media group.
Asking that question opens the door to the answer: “Anyway, you’re being subsidized… WITH MY TAXES.” »
lost generation?
In the event that the internet giants decide to ‘block’ the distribution of news instead of dealing with content producers as proposed by Bill C-18, we risk a dramatic decline in the level of information among the under-34s.
Unaccustomed to paying for the information they consume, they simply don’t subscribe to traditional media. (Check out her reaction to Netflix’s stricter rules…)
This is more than a media revenue problem, it is a serious problem for democracy. How can we hope for an enlightened nation when it is uninformed?
