Google is conducting tests that block access to news for some Canadian users in response to a new bill that could force it and other major platforms like Meta’s Facebook to negotiate deals with news publishers to pay them for content. Reuters reports. The tests will reportedly affect less than four percent of Canadian users, last about five weeks, and “restrict visibility of Canadian and international news to varying degrees.”
The tests come in response to the Canada Online News Act, also known as “Bill C-18,” currently being considered by the Canadian Senate, according to The Globe and Mail.
In a tweet, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Canadians will not be intimidated by Google’s behavior. “Disappointing to hear that Google is trying to block access to news sites,” he said. “Canadians will not be afraid. At the end of the day, all we want from the tech giants is to compensate journalists when they use their work.”
“We are briefly testing potential product responses to Bill C-18 that affect a very small percentage of Canadian consumers,” said Google spokesperson Shay Purdy Press newspaper in a statement. “We run thousands of tests every year to evaluate all potential changes to Search. We have been completely transparent about our concern that C-18 is too broad and, if not changed, could affect the products Canadians use and rely on every day. We remain committed to supporting a sustainable future for news in Canada and to proposing solutions that fix Bill C-18.”
Like Google, Meta has also expressed opposition to Canada’s Online News Act and has said it is prepared to block news content in Canada in response. “Faced with adverse legislation that is based on false assumptions that defy the logic of how Facebook operates, we believe it is important to be transparent about the possibility that we may be forced to consider whether we continue to allow the sharing of news content in Canada.” , Meta’s Canadian head of media partnerships, Mark Dinsdale, told Wall Street Journal last year.
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