Canadian internet users could no longer see news articles in their Google searches starting Dec. 19, the multinational said, unhappy with a federal rule that determines how it must share its revenue with media outlets in Canada.
The company presented its 12-page report to journalists on Friday, detailing eight changes that represent the “absolute minimum” of its terms and conditions for participation in the Trudeau government’s plan to cover part of the country’s journalists’ salary bill.
Essentially, Google believes the government’s expectations regarding the number of deals it must enter into with media companies are unfair and overly complicated. This is necessary if the company wants to be exempt from the costly “mandatory and unrealistic” arbitration process provided for by a current federal law, the details of which were disclosed in a draft regulation that Google is seeking to change.
More than a web giant
The Online News Act must take effect on December 19, 2023, six months after its passage last June under the name C-18. All political parties in Ottawa, with the exception of the Conservative Party of Canada, voted in favor of the text.
The other company affected by this law, Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, immediately announced that it would never comply and has already removed the messages from its platforms to exclude itself from any obligation.
The only hope that C-18 will financially support the media now lies with Google, owned by the Californian multinational Alphabet. According to draft regulations released in September, Ottawa wanted to withdraw about $172 million annually from that company, compared to about $62 million from Facebook to pay journalists in the country.
According to federal calculations, that amount would represent about 4% of Google’s revenue in Canada. Google disputes this bill, arguing that news, which accounts for about 2% of all searches, does not generate “meaningful revenue.”
This amount [de 172 millions évoquée par Ottawa] is far greater than the economic value Google derives from news queries and leaves a single company responsible for covering an arbitrary and significant portion of Canadian news publishers’ costs
” This amount [de 172 millions évoquée par Ottawa] “is far greater than the economic value Google derives from news queries and leaves a single company responsible for covering an arbitrary and significant portion of Canadian news publishers’ costs,” we read in Google Canada’s submission to federal consultations.
A contribution cap
Questioned by Le Devoir, Google mentioned that it was prepared to put a maximum of $100 million on the table, an amount consistent with previous government estimates. His condition: that his financial responsibility is limited and that his intangible aids are taken into account.
The company ensures that it does not appropriate content from any media, but on the contrary provides a clear service to news sites by redirecting Internet users to them. She estimates this favor at $250 million per year.
Google fears the bad faith of certain media outlets in the negotiations forced by Ottawa and wants the C-18 regulations to give the company more flexibility and more time to reach agreements, protected from the risk of arbitration. The company also wants the government to define a clearer list of media eligible for agreements.
The Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, had instead set a series of criteria for the agreements reached to be sufficient in her eyes, such as being used to finance the production of local, regional and national news. Signing these agreements required diverse media outlets, including at least five indigenous peoples and ten from official-speaking minority communities.
The minister indicated just this week that she hoped to reach an agreement with Google on this issue. It still needs to publish a final version of the regulation on the application of the online news law, taking into account comments made during its just-concluded consultations.
An expected stalemate
“We will analyze all submissions received. We will continue to communicate with those who have questions or concerns, including web giants,” Minister Pascale St-Onge said in a statement.
Bloc Québécois heritage spokesman Martin Champoux is calling on the government to “negotiate actively while supporting our media to stop the bleeding that has already begun,” particularly through press assistance programs during this time.
Over the past two years, Google has struck deals with several Canadian media outlets, including Le Devoir. Its director Brian Myles also warns the authorities who see Google’s announcement as “just a bluff”.
“Google is a responsible corporate citizen looking for a way to fund the Canadian news ecosystem. We ask this company and the Minister of Canadian Heritage to find a way to do this, and quickly, because blocking the news would have disastrous consequences. »
Approximately 93% of Internet searches are done via Google, while Microsoft’s competitor Bing only claims 3% of the market. Unlike Meta, Google continued to participate in government consultations even after the passage of C-18. The company ensures that it continues negotiations with the Canadian government to find a “way through”.