Canadian Federal Politics Thread v5

[GordonBlue]

Google to remove news links in Canada in response to online news law

Search giant responds to Liberal government's Online News Act, which became law last week

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/goo...news-1.6892879

Google said Thursday it will remove Canadian news content from its search, news and discover products after a new law meant to compensate media outlets comes into force.

The move to pull news from the world's most popular search engine could have a devastating impact on Canadian media outlets, which often depend on third parties like Google to get content into the hands of readers.

Meta already has said it will block Canadian news content on popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Google and Facebook have a combined 80 per cent share of all online ad revenue in Canada and rake in an eye-popping $9.7 billion a year, according to government data.

According to government figures, more than 450 news outlets in Canada have closed since 2008 and at least one third of Canadian journalism jobs have disappeared over that same time period

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

Google to remove news links in Canada in response to online news law

Search giant responds to Liberal government's Online News Act, which became law last week

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/goo...news-1.6892879

Google said Thursday it will remove Canadian news content from its search, news and discover products after a new law meant to compensate media outlets comes into force.

The move to pull news from the world's most popular search engine could have a devastating impact on Canadian media outlets, which often depend on third parties like Google to get content into the hands of readers.

Meta already has said it will block Canadian news content on popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Google and Facebook have a combined 80 per cent share of all online ad revenue in Canada and rake in an eye-popping $9.7 billion a year, according to government data.

According to government figures, more than 450 news outlets in Canada have closed since 2008 and at least one third of Canadian journalism jobs have disappeared over that same time period

I hope the Liberal government and especially the Minister(s) who were most influential in crafting this bill are feeling a lot of heat right now because of this terrible law. I'm glad that Google and Meta are pulling Canadian news in response.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

I hope the Liberal government and especially the Minister(s) who were most influential in crafting this bill are feeling a lot of heat right now because of this terrible law. I'm glad that Google and Meta are pulling Canadian news in response.

Without knowing much about the situation, I approve of the bill.
Why should Meta and Google make billions of someone else's news content?
Why shouldn't they pay something?

From what I previously read, it's working well in Australia after they passed the same type of law 2 years ago.

[Firebot]

Luckily, thanks to Liberals' infinite wisdom, we will still have access to Fox News sources to us by Meta and Facebook to ensure we have well balanced news sources.

Ironic that this link making this announcement would be censored down to media outlets BBC, WSJ India Times, Al Jazeera and Fox in a few weeks time.

https://www.google.com/search?q=goog...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Are True North and Rebel News considered 'news' as well? Quite the conundrum, they either qualify as Canadian media outlets (much to the chagrin of many) and get censored, or they do not qualify and will not be subject to C-18, and will be at the forefront of Google and Meta in the future when doing a search.

Thanks Trudeau!

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Firebot

Luckily, thanks to Liberals' infinite wisdom, we will still have access to Fox News sources to us by Meta and Facebook to ensure we have well balanced news sources.

Ironic that this link making this announcement would be censored down to media outlets BBC, WSJ India Times, Al Jazeera and Fox in a few weeks time.

https://www.google.com/search?q=goog...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Are True North and Rebel News considered 'news' as well? Quite the conundrum, they either qualify as Canadian media outlets (much to the chagrin of many) and get censored, or they do not qualify and will not be subject to C-18, and will be at the forefront of Google and Meta in the future when doing a search.

Thanks Trudeau!

Given their content, they could probably(and should) be taken down as hate organizations. They are an embarrassment to Canada and I can't believe people are dumb enough to take their piles of feces seriously.

[Firebot]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

Without knowing much about the situation, I approve of the bill.
Why should Meta and Google make billions of someone else's news content?
Why shouldn't they pay something?

From what I previously read, it's working well in Australia after they passed the same type of law 2 years ago.

The Australian law is quoted often as a comparable example, but it really isn't.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/met...-c18-1.6890248

Bill C-18 is modelled on a similar law in Australia, the country that first forced digital companies to pay for the use of news content.

Meta, known as Facebook at the time, temporarily blocked Australians from sharing news stories on its platform. The Australian government and the tech company ended up striking a deal and the news ban was lifted.

Rodriguez has pointed to the deal reached in Australia as proof that one can be made in Canada.

But Curran said the Australian law was different because it allowed the company to negotiate private deals with publishers outside of the framework of the regulations. C-18 does not, she said.

"I wish there was a way to reach deals or come to some kind of compromised solution outside the framework of Bill C-18," she said. "But there's really not."

[opendoor]

The same thing happened in Australia in 2021 and eventually the companies coughed up some money for a revenue sharing agreement. It has been heralded as a resounding success there:

https://financialpost.com/telecom/me...ay-for-content

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/20...news-a-success


And the EU is contemplating similar action. I guess we'll see if the companies do something similar in Canada to what they did in Australia. It's estimated that the new deals brought in $200M into the industry in the first year there.

[Firebot]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Given their content, they could probably(and should) be taken down as hate organizations. They are an embarrassment to Canada and I can't believe people are dumb enough to take their piles of feces seriously.

I totally get you, they are trash.

But right now due to C-18 and the Liberal / NDP coalition, either they are part of the Canadian media outlet conglomerate and are legitimized, or they are not considered part of C-18 and their content will be promoted on Meta and Facebook.

This also means that more prominent alternate news will be closer to the top of news now when using Meta or Google. As can be seen, media can certainly mold people's thoughts and this change will only exacerbate fringe media prominence.

I guess this is what Liberal and NDP supporters wished for with this bill, considering the deafening silence on it when it was being voted on?

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by opendoor

The same thing happened in Australia in 2021 and eventually the companies coughed up some money for a revenue sharing agreement. It has been heralded as a resounding success there:

https://financialpost.com/telecom/me...ay-for-content

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/20...news-a-success


And the EU is contemplating similar action. I guess we'll see if the companies do something similar in Canada to what they did in Australia. It's estimated that the new deals brought in $200M into the industry in the first year there.

The cbc article I read said that C-18 doesn’t allow the deals that were made in Australia. So I don’t think that’s coming.

[PeteMoss]

Some guy walked into a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo - evidently asked what the course was about and started stabbing the professor.

So kudos to the all the right wing goons who decided to make trans issues into the new rage of the day.

According to police, "this was a hate-motivated incident related to gender expression and gender identity."

"It's sad and disturbing that this incident happened during Pride Month," Crowell told the media briefing, adding he hopes it encourages the community to "all come together."

The accused, a recent graduate, has been charged with:

Aggravated assault (three counts).
Assault with a weapon (four counts).
Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose (two counts).
Mischief under $5,000.
Some 40 students were inside the classroom during the stabbings. A 38-year-old female professor from Kitchener and two students — a 20-year-old female and a 19-year-old male, both from Waterloo — were taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Crowell said a man who was not a member of the class entered around 3:30 p.m. ET and spoke with the professor "before attacking her with two large knives without provocation." Some people in the class tried to stop what was happening, while others fled the room, he said.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitch...safe-1.6892506

[Locke]

Its okay, the Government knows whats best for its people and shall inform the populace of the information they deem it necessary for us to know!

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by Weitz

The cbc article I read said that C-18 doesn’t allow the deals that were made in Australia. So I don’t think that’s coming.

Pretty sure what happened here mirrored what happened there. Australia had a similar law pass. Meta and Google pulled their news. Government changed the the law to allow these deals and they returned news with the companies they made deals with.

The big media companies will probably be ok coming up with their own deals but small independent outlets may get pooched.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Weitz

The cbc article I read said that C-18 doesn’t allow the deals that were made in Australia. So I don’t think that’s coming.

Well, that's what Meta says, because they want to make it seem like the government is forcing them to take this step and there's no other way for them to proceed. They said similar things in Australia before eventually coming to an agreement.

I guess we'll see who blinks first. But companies often act like something is impossible when it's going to cost them money, only to change their course later when regulators don't back down.

That's not to say the law is good or smart or anything, but I just don't take giant corporations' words at face value. They're trying to make as much money as possible.

[zamler]

All this will do is make Justin approved news sources more irrelevant. Unless he decides to go full China and firewalll the entire country wouldn't put it past him to try.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Firebot

I totally get you, they are trash.

But right now due to C-18 and the Liberal / NDP coalition, either they are part of the Canadian media outlet conglomerate and are legitimized, or they are not considered part of C-18 and their content will be promoted on Meta and Facebook.

This also means that more prominent alternate news will be closer to the top of news now when using Meta or Google. As can be seen, media can certainly mold people's thoughts and this change will only exacerbate fringe media prominence.

I guess this is what Liberal and NDP supporters wished for with this bill, considering the deafening silence on it when it was being voted on?

I doubt being censored along with the CBC legitimizes either of those outlets to anyone who doesn’t not already believe they are legitimate.

Interesting that nobody is angry at Meta or Google about this, though. The ones who are effectively censoring Canadian Media on their platforms.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

Google to remove news links in Canada in response to online news law

Search giant responds to Liberal government's Online News Act, which became law last week

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/goo...news-1.6892879

Google said Thursday it will remove Canadian news content from its search, news and discover products after a new law meant to compensate media outlets comes into force.

The move to pull news from the world's most popular search engine could have a devastating impact on Canadian media outlets, which often depend on third parties like Google to get content into the hands of readers.

Meta already has said it will block Canadian news content on popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Google and Facebook have a combined 80 per cent share of all online ad revenue in Canada and rake in an eye-popping $9.7 billion a year, according to government data.

According to government figures, more than 450 news outlets in Canada have closed since 2008 and at least one third of Canadian journalism jobs have disappeared over that same time period

Facebook and Google sending a message that they can throw their weight around vs. the Canadian government is largely how I read that, which in a certain way is suggestive of the importance of exerting sovereign interests in the media space.

Have people no faith in the market to innovate and find solutions?

[Firebot]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I doubt being censored along with the CBC legitimizes either of those outlets to anyone who doesn’t not already believe they are legitimate.

Interesting that nobody is angry at Meta or Google about this, though. The ones who are effectively censoring Canadian Media on their platforms.

Not paying Canadian Media != censoring. Really odd choice of word coming from you.

Google and Meta don't have a gun to their head they are free to choose whether to pay to link to Canadian media content as per written Liberal / NDP coalition law, or simply not link them. They choose the 2nd.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by opendoor

Well, that's what Meta says, because they want to make it seem like the government is forcing them to take this step and there's no other way for them to proceed. They said similar things in Australia before eventually coming to an agreement.

I guess we'll see who blinks first. But companies often act like something is impossible when it's going to cost them money, only to change their course later when regulators don't back down.

That's not to say the law is good or smart or anything, but I just don't take giant corporations' words at face value. They're trying to make as much money as possible.

While I don’t disagree with your premise here, they specifically say the Australian law is different and they can’t make those deals under the Canadian law. Would be a weird thing to say if they could. In fact they say they already have deals with some of these companies that are now in jeopardy.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by opendoor

They're trying to make as much money as possible.

Companies shouldn't be able to do that.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by zamler

Companies shouldn't be able to do that.

Yes, we should remove all regulation and red tape so companies can thrive and naturally do what's best for everyone. When car companies spent billions of dollars lobbying against seatbelt laws, airbag laws, catalytic converters, fuel economy standards, etc, claiming they were impossibly expensive to implement, the governments of the day should have just rolled over.