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☆ Google, Canada Reach Settlement Over News Payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Vipal Monga | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The settlement means that Google will continue to provide links to Canadian news. Photo: reuters staff/ReutersTORONTO— Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit reached a settlement with Canada’s government over a contentious law that would have forced the tech company to pay Canadian news organizations for links to the content. Google has agreed to pay 100 million Canadian dollars, equivalent to $73.6 million, indexed to inflation, into a fund, said Canada’s Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge. Money from the fund will go toward supporting the news sector.

Persons: Pascale St Organizations: Google, reuters, Reuters Locations: Reuters TORONTO

TORONTO (AP) — Canada's government said Wednesday it reached a deal with Google for the company to contribute $100 million Canadian dollars annually to the country's news industry to comply with a new Canadian law requiring tech companies to pay publishers for their content. The agreement removes a threat by Google to block the ability to search for Canadian news on Google in Canada. Canada in late June passed the Online News Act to require tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online. Kent Walker, president of global affairs at Google and Alphabet, thanked the minister in a statement and said Google would continue sending valuable traffic to Canadian publishers. In 2021, it briefly blocked news from its platform in Australia after the country passed legislation that would compel tech companies to pay publishers for using their news stories.

Persons: —, Justin Trudeau, Meta, ” Pascale, Onge, ”, Kent Walker, Canada’s, Trudeau Organizations: TORONTO, Google, Facebook, Meta, Canadian Locations: Canada, St, Australia

☆ Google reaches deal with Canada to keep news content on its platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Google has agreed to pay Canadian publishers for their news content, backing down from a high-stakes threat to block all news content produced in the country on its platforms after the tech giant and the Canadian government announced a deal Wednesday to avert the looming crisis. The agreement resolves tensions between Google and Canada over a controversial law known as C-18 requiring digital platforms to compensate news publishers for their work. The Google agreement marks a departure from the path taken by Instagram-parent Meta, which opted to pull news content from its platforms in Canada in response to C-18. The option for Google to negotiate with a single collective helps address one of the tech giant’s main objections to the law. But how the agreement with Google plays out could potentially shape the course of those policies.

Persons: ”, Pascale St, Onge didn’t, Bill C, Global Affairs Kent Walker, Andy Stone, Meta Organizations: CNN, Google, Canadian, Canadian Heritage, St, of, Global Affairs, Meta Locations: Canada, of Canada

☆ Canada news industry body backs Google's concerns about online news law
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Ismail Shakil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The logo of Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in New York City, U.S., January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOTTAWA, Oct 12 (Reuters) - A Canadian news industry body on Thursday lent support to some of Google's concerns about a new law that aims to make large internet companies share advertising revenue with news publishers in the country. Canada tried addressing tech companies' concerns about the law in draft rules released in September, but Google and Meta Platforms META.O were not convinced. "We are aligned that there should be a firm ceiling, rather than a floor on financial liability," Deegan said in the statement. "We will continue to engage those with questions or concerns, including tech giants," Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said in a statement, adding that Ottawa will be reviewing submissions received during public consultation for the draft rules.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, Paul Deegan, Deegan, Pascale St, Onge, Ismail Shakil, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Google, Chelsea, REUTERS, Rights OTTAWA, News Media Canada, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, NMC, Globe, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Canada, Ottawa

Another analytics firm, Data.ai, likewise told Reuters that its data was not showing any meaningful change to usage of the platform in Canada in August. Both Meta and Alphabet's Google have said the law is unworkable for their businesses. Even before Meta pulled the plug on news links in Canada, Facebook referrals to a sampling of popular news sites in Canada were already down about 35% year-over-year in July and about 74% since 2020, according to Similarweb. Meta's other big social platform Instagram is less of a presence in the news environment as it does not enable links within individual user posts. Canada's new Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge has spoken to both Facebook and Google since taking office after a cabinet shuffle at the end of July, her office told Reuters.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Data.ai, Similarweb, Meta, Pascale St, Onge, Katie Paul, Steve Scherer, Ismail Shakil, Kenneth Li, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Facebook, REUTERS, Meta, Similarweb, Reuters, Graphics, Google, Reuters Institute, Pew Research Center, Thomson Locations: Canada, United States, New York, Ottawa

☆ Meta's news ban is preventing Canadians from sharing vital information about the wildfires ripping through western Canada
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Now, residents say the ban has prevented people from sharing vital news as wildfires tear through western Canada. Canadians say Meta's news ban is having tangible consequences as they try to share news about a series of devastating wildfires prompting evacuations in Northwest Territories and British Columbia. Here, residents are posting copied-and-pasted versions of news articles and live reported updates to circumvent the ban and continue sharing vital information about the wildfires. As of August 19, there are more than 200 active wildfires in the Northwest Territories. A Meta spokesperson told Insider in a statement that people in Canada can still use other features to share information about the wildfires.

Persons: Meta, Pascale St, Onge, Poul Osted, Osted Organizations: Canada's, Meta, Google, Facebook, Heritage, Northwest, CBC Locations: Canada, Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Yellowknife, Yellowknife —, Kelowna

Companies Meta Platforms Inc FollowOTTAWA, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The Canadian government on Friday demanded that Meta (META.O) lift a "reckless" ban on domestic news from its platforms to allow people to share information about wildfires in the west of the country. Meta started blocking news on its Facebook and Instagram platforms for all users in Canada this month in response to a new law requiring internet giants to pay for news articles. Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez earlier said the ban meant people did not have access to crucial information. Canadians can use Facebook and Instagram to access content from official government agencies, emergency services and non-governmental organizations, the spokesperson added. Meta says users do not come to its platform for news and forcing the company to pay for content shared on its platforms is unsustainable for its business.

Persons: Meta, Pascale St, Onge, Pablo Rodriguez, Chris Bittle, Ollie Williams, David Ljunggren, Josie Kao Organizations: OTTAWA, Canadian, Meta, Facebook, Transport, Liberal Party, Canadian Broadcasting Corp, Thomson Locations: Canada, Yellowknife

☆ Meta starts process to end news access in Canada over law on paying publishers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Morning commute traffic streams past the Meta sign outside the headquarters of Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc in Mountain View, California, U.S. November 9, 2022. REUTERS/Peter DaSilva/File PhotoAug 1 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) has begun the process to end access to news on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada, it said on Tuesday, in response to a legislation requiring internet giants to pay news publishers. The Online News Act, passed by the Canadian parliament, would force platforms like Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and Meta to negotiate commercial deals with Canadian news publishers for their content. Canada's legislation is similar to a ground-breaking law that Australia passed in 2021 and had triggered threats from Google and Facebook to curtail their services. But on the Canadian law, Google has argued that it is broader than those enacted in Australia and Europe as it puts a price on news story links displayed in search results and can apply to outlets that do not produce news.

Persons: Peter DaSilva, Rachel Curran, Meta's, Pascale St, Meta, Justin Trudeau, Chavi Mehta, David Ljunggren, Ismail Shakil, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Facebook, Meta, REUTERS, Canadian Heritage, Google, Canadian, Thomson Locations: Mountain View , California, U.S, Canada, Australia, Europe, Bengaluru, Montreal, Ontario

☆ Judge who sentenced Nassar calls for national inquiry into Canadian sport
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 19 (Reuters) - Rosemarie Aquilina, the American judge who sentenced disgraced USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, has called for an independent inquiry into sports across Canada amid widespread allegations of harassment, abuse and bullying. "When will Canada hear its children and take this meaningful action to protect them from the pain, suffering and trauma they suffer in sport?" "Canada should be celebrating and honoring the excellence of Canadian athletes and their well-being, not profiting from their abuse. Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge announced a series of reforms in May aimed at holding Canada's national sport organizations accountable, but the many who have been calling for a national inquiry for months said the measures did not go far enough. Aquilina also said that if Canada wanted to protect the integrity of sport it needed to protect both the sport and the players.

Persons: Rosemarie Aquilina, Larry Nassar, Pascale St, Onge, Aquilina, Nassar, unflinchingly, Frank Pingue, Clare Fallon Organizations: Canadian Heritage, Sport, Thomson Locations: USA, Canada, Toronto

☆ Federal government to restore Hockey Canada funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Steve Keating | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRAMPTON, Ontario, April 16 (Reuters) - The Canada government will restore funding to Hockey Canada after the body met three conditions to make the sport safer, said Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge on Sunday, ahead of the women's ice hockey world championship gold medal game between the United States and Canada. Hockey Canada had its funding frozen last year when the national governing body came under scrutiny over its handling of sexual assault allegations. "Today marks an important milestone for Hockey Canada in our journey to earn and maintain the trust of Canadians," said Hugh Fraser, chair of the Hockey Canada Board of Directors. Hockey Canada must also review and implement the recommendations from the independent governance review led by Thomas Cromwell. CBC reported that Hockey Canada received $7.7 million from Sport Canada in the 2022 fiscal year.

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