The Canadian media industry is breathing a sigh of relief with the news that Google and the federal government have reached an agreement over Bill C-18, the Online News Act, which will give Canadians access to trusted news sources and provide financial benefits to news outlets.
The response from the industry is, as expected, decidedly positive.
Sonia Carreno, president of IAB Canada, says the association’s members are relieved to hear the news that Google was able to come to an agreement with the Canadian government. “While this outcome is positive, we are hopeful that policymakers will reflect on this difficult example while drafting any such consequential pieces of regulation in the future, and to avoid similar challenges, conduct due diligence with all industry stakeholders at the table. We must recognize the symbiotic relationship that exists between news and the distribution channels that help in the process of informing Canadians.”
Carreno says there is no evidence to suggest that this negotiated outcome will impact any other platform decisions.
As part of the deal, Google will contribute $100 million in financial support annually, indexed to inflation, for a wide range of news businesses across the country, including independent news businesses and those from Indigenous and official-language minority communities. Google will also have the option to work with a single collective to distribute its contribution to all interested eligible news businesses based on the number of full-time equivalent journalists engaged by those businesses.
One of the mechanisms in the bill calls for the funds from platforms pooled – and then distributed to Canadian media companies based on the number of full-time journalists the company has. This ensures funds are distributed based on scale while also incentivizing Canadian media companies to continue to develop local news.
Sarah Thompson, the president of Dentsu Media, has been vocal in her support of local media. She says the deal is a good step towards resolving what would have been troublesome for local media and news in Canada and made local media inaccessible to many Canadians.
“During this time, we are seeing media organizations drive more direct traffic and grow their relationships with audiences, so we are optimistic that trend will continue. We need to do more than hope, we need to act, so we see less closures and more Canadian media growth in 2024. The CMDC Media Manifesto will do even more and is best course of action by shifting investment into Canadian owned and operated media to ensure a vibrant and ethical media ecosystem.”
Thompson adds, “We have achieved so much at Dentsu with fulfilling on that mandate and we are at 23% [of local media spend]. We need to all change the conversation from mass impressions to quality and attention and this will put more dollars back into Canadian media.”
In addition to its financial contribution, Google will continue to make programs available for Canadian news businesses such as training, tools and resources for business development and support for non-profit journalism projects. Google has also provided assurances that Canadian news businesses will continue to be treated commensurately with their global peers.
Devon MacDonald, president of Cairns Oneil, says he is happy about the agreement but feels there’s still work to be done. “This commitment by Google can end the brinksmanship that was clearly a negotiating tactic and one that in the long run provides tremendous detriment to Google, and their parent company Alphabet’s, overall business. The fund eligibility and distribution needs work, but the concept that it could be done based on the number of full-time journalists bodes well to adjust for scale and ensure that support of local news. The next step will be for Meta to follow suit.”
Canadian Heritage will share more details about the final regulations following approval by the Treasury Board of Canada and prior to the Act coming into effect on Dec. 19, 2023.
Photo via Unsplash
This story originally appeared on Media in Canada.
