Canadian Prime Minister condemns Meta and Google for 'bullying'

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

The bill is designed to force internet giants like Google and Facebook (owned by Meta) to negotiate trade agreements and pay news organizations in Canada. However, American tech companies argue that the bill's proposals are unsustainable for their businesses.

Google and Facebook have been experimenting this year with restricting certain users from viewing or sharing news content in Canada. This could be one of the responses from American tech companies if the aforementioned bill, known as the "Online News Act," becomes law in its current form.

"The fact that these internet giants would rather cut off Canadians' access to local news than pay fairly is a real problem, and now they're resorting to bullying tactics to try to get their way – that's not going to work," Reuters quoted Trudeau as telling reporters in Ottawa on June 7.

The bill, introduced in April 2022, sets out similar regulations to a groundbreaking law passed in Australia in 2021.

Google argues that the regulations in the Canadian bill are stricter than those enacted in Australia and Europe, and proposes several amendments "to align with international standards," addressing the company's concerns.

"We have proposed reasonable and practical solutions to ensure the bill serves its intended purpose and increases our investment in Canada's news ecosystem," Google spokesperson Shay Purdy said in comment on Trudeau's remarks.

"The bill has some serious problems that make it inapplicable to our products and services," Purdy added.

This bill was passed by the Canadian House of Commons last December and is now in the Senate. The Canadian Senate rarely blocks bills that have already been passed by the House of Commons.

Canada's media industry wants stricter regulations for technology companies to prevent them from pushing news organizations out of the online advertising market.

“Many different internet giants, such as Meta, report record profits every year, while at the same time, independent news organizations across Canada are struggling,” Trudeau said. “We will continue to ensure that these highly profitable corporations contribute to strengthening our democracy.”

Last week, Meta stated that the bill was fundamentally flawed. The company, owned by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, said the news had no economic value to its platforms.

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