Google has declared that, in reaction to a legislative measure intended to make tech titans remunerate Canadian media for news, they will prevent Canadian news content from being visible in the country.
Last week, Canada's parliament passed the Online News Act, necessitating that platforms such as Google and Meta's Facebook negotiate contracts with news suppliers.
Following Meta's decision to impose restrictions on news content for Canadians, Google has taken similar action.
This bill is due to become effective in six months' time.
A modification was made to a law in Australia that had been enacted two years ago. This was done after Meta temporarily prevented users in Australia from accessing or sharing news stories on its sites.
Once the amendments were made, the blackout drew to a close, and since then, Google and Meta have forged more than 30 agreements with Australian media businesses.
Google had earlier deemed the Canadian law "not feasible" in its current version and offered modifications. Both Google and Meta have conversed with the authorities concerning the statute.
In reply, the Canadian government declared that this law will assist in supplying adequate remuneration to newspapers that are suffering economically and maintained that it is necessary to rectify inequity in the Canadian digital news industry.
On Thursday afternoon, Pablo Rodriguez, the minister responsible for the file, revealed to CTV News that he was taken aback by Google's decision, adding that they had talked as recently as the morning of the same day.
The Canadian parliament's independent budget overseer determined that news organisations could potentially receive up to C$329m annually from digital platforms. This comes to approximately $248m or £196m.
Despite the enthusiasm of numerous media associations and outlets for the bill, their businesses may now be endangered as Google makes up a major fraction of the visitors to Canadian news sites.
Google makes up 30% of the traffic for the Globe and Mail, as per Phillip Crawley's statements in parliament in the past month. Le Devoir, a well-known French publication, has Google as its primary source of traffic, which accounts for 40%, with social media contributing the other 30%.
Google did not provide any indication as to the duration of its prohibition on hyperlinks to local news sites, nor whether Canadian clients would be presented with links to Canadian stories from outside sources.
Google stated in a blog post that they have informed the government that upon the implementation of the law, they must remove links to Canadian news from their Search, News and Discover services in Canada.
We don't take this decision or its consequences lightly, and we understand the importance of being open with Canadian publishers and our users ahead of time.
Google Canada's policy team stated to the BBC that the Government has not provided them with convincing evidence that the regulatory process established can address the intrinsic issues present in the legislation.
However, on Thursday the corporation mentioned it proposes "to be involved in the regulatory system" and "remain open to Canadians and publishers as we progress."
News Media Canada, the entity representing hundreds of news organisations in Canada who advocated for the law, expressed that they still thought there was a method that could be successful. They called on stakeholders to act obediently, as dependable corporate citizens, and get involved in the regulatory route to make certain that the regulation is even-handed, predictable, and equitable.
Reporting from Natalie Sherman was included in this.
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