Google to scrap local news links in Canada over Online News Act

Google says it will cut access to local Canadian news in the country in response to a new law that aims to make tech giants pay Canadian media for news content.

Canada’s parliament passed the Online News Act last week, requiring platforms like Google and Meta’s Facebook to negotiate deals with news providers.

Google’s move comes after Meta announced it would also restrict news content for its Canadian users.

A similar law in Australia was tweaked.

That legislation passed two years ago, but Australian lawmakers made changes after Meta briefly blocked users in the country from sharing or viewing news on its platforms.

The blackout ended when the amendments were made, and Google and Meta have since negotiated more than 30 deals with Australian media companies.

Google had previously called the Canadian law – which comes into effect in about six month’s time – “unworkable” in its current form and proposed amendments. Both Google and Meta have held talks with the government about the legislation.

But in response, the Canadian government has said the legislation will help provide fair compensation to struggling news outlets and has argued it is necessary “to enhance fairness in the Canadian digital news market”.

The Canadian parliament’s independent budget watchdog found news organisations could receive as much as C$329m ($248m; £196m) per year from digital platforms.

But many of the same media associations and outlets that championed the bill may now face a threat to their businesses, as Google fuels a significant portion of web traffic to Canadian news outlets.

At the Globe and Mail, for instance, Google accounts for 30% of the traffic, publisher Phillip Crawley told parliament last month. For Le Devoir, a prominent French language publication, Google drives 40% of its traffic, with nearly 30% coming from social media.

Google did not specify how long its ban on local news links would take place, or whether Canadian users would be shown links to stories about Canada from publishers not based in the country.

“We have now informed the government that when the law takes effect, we unfortunately will have to remove links to Canadian news from our Search, News and Discover products in Canada,” Google said in a blogpost.

“We don’t take this decision or its impacts lightly and believe it’s important to be transparent with Canadian publishers and our users as early as possible,” it said.