Alphabet said it would remove links to news from Canadian publishers on its Google search engine after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government passed a law requiring digital platforms to pay local news outlets.
Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs, Mountain View, Calif., said statement.
Walker said the links will be removed when the law takes effect.
The move came on the heels of an announcement by Meta Platforms Inc. Last week it will Termination of availability News on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada. Alphabet and Meta have both tested news blocking on their platforms in recent months.
The tech giants have argued the law would unfairly force them to pay for content that has no economic benefits, but the government says the bill would generate needed revenue for Canada’s media sector which saw 450 outlets close between 2008 and 2021.
This isn’t the first time Alphabet has pulled news from its platform. In 2014, the company shut down Google News in Spain after that country passed a law requiring news aggregators to pay publishers. After a break of nearly eight years, the service become available Back last year after the copyright law was updated allowing media to negotiate with digital platforms.
Aside from banning the news in Canada, Alphabet said it would also end its negotiating agreements covering 150 news publications in the country.
In 2022, Google linked to Canadian news publications more than 3.6 billion times, with referral traffic worth C$250 million ($189 million) annually, according to the company.
“We hope the government will be able to identify a viable path forward,” Walker said. Otherwise, the legislation could “make it harder for Canadians to find news online, make it harder for journalists to reach their audiences, and reduce valuable free web traffic to Canadian publishers.”
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said in a statement that big tech companies would rather spend money changing their platforms to deny Canadians access to local news than pay the organizations that produce it.
“This shows how deeply irresponsible and out of touch they are, especially when they are making billions of dollars off Canadian users. Canada needs a strong, free and independent press, this is central to our democracy.”
News Media Canada, which represents about 500 outlets in the country from major newspapers to smaller independent players, snubbed Alphabet’s move.
“Instead of demonstrating their extraordinary power in the market by denying access to accurate and timely news to Canadians, this is the time for all stakeholders to act in good faith, as responsible corporate citizens, and to actively participate in the regulatory process to ensure regulation is balanced, predictable and fair.” Paul Dejean, Group CEO, said via email.
