The Trudeau government has reached an agreement with Google to create an independent fund that will provide Canadian media with $100 million in annual royalties, federal government sources have confirmed.
Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge is expected to make the official announcement and provide details of the agreement early on Wednesday afternoon.
The planned amount of $100 million to be paid annually to the media will be linked to inflation.
This news should be a breath of fresh air for the government as Google has threatened to follow in Meta’s footsteps and block journalistic content from its search engine and other products.
While the reported $100 million is a far cry from the $172 million Ottawa wanted just weeks ago, it signals that the government has found a “way forward” with the multinational.
Meta, specifically owner of Facebook and Instagram, refused to comply with Bill C-18, the Online News Act, which forces platforms to pay royalties to media outlets whose content is shared on their platforms.
Bill C-18, passed at the end of the spring, must come into force on December 19th.
This created a legal framework that forced the conclusion of agreements between American platforms and a list of recognized Canadian media. It is currently unclear whether the creation of the new independent fund will work as originally planned.
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