Firms that use media content should pay ‘fair share’: official
Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault said Tuesday that the feds are looking for “longer-term solutions” to support news and information organizations, and suggested that he’d like to see large tech companies such as Google and Facebook pay their “fair share” when they profit from content created by others.
Speaking to participants at this year’s Banff World Media Festival, Guilbeault said he has been monitoring developments in France and Australia, both of which are on track to roll out rules requiring online giants that aggregate news feeds to pay media organizations whose content they feature.
While he stopped short of describing what such a model might look like in Canada, and whether new legislation would be required, Guilbeault said he is looking at France’s use of “neighbouring rights,” which traditionally govern the use of copyrighted material in the music business.
“I think that those who benefit from the media content of our news and information agencies in Canada should be paying their fair share,” the heritage minister said during his 45-minute talk. “If they are making money out of this, then there should be a system where part of that money goes to people who create it.”
Guilbeault said the federal government’s assistance to the news sector over the past year or so in the form of labour tax credits and credits for digital subscriptions, as well as through funds to support local journalism, are short-term measures initiated to handle the “crisis” in the media sector.
Revenues from traditional sources have been in steady decline as advertising dollars shrink and go increasingly to the tech giants.
“I don’t think the government should be funding media,” Guilbeault said at the virtual conference. “We’re doing it right now (because) there’s a crisis, like an emergency. But in the long run we need to find longer-term solutions.”
The heritage minister said he has already spoken to his counterpart in France, and plans to speak to officials in Australia, where competition authorities are creating a mandatory code between media companies and digital platforms such as Facebook and Google.
“So we will be looking at that, we will be coming up with something in the fall, looking at neighbouring rights, news and information organizations and web giants as well,” Guilbeault said.
The federal government is in the midst of a broad overhaul of the broadcasting and entertainment sectors, with its first substantial review of the Broadcasting Act since the early 1990s.
Guilbeault indicated legislation could be ready this fall.
As media outlets deal with the economic impact of the pandemic, a number of Canadian players have teamed up to urge the feds to level the playing field with Google and Facebook.
Publishers of several of the country’s major newspapers, including the National Post, signed a joint letter to the federal government last month asking it to “correct an historical inequality that dates back to the birth of digital media platforms.”
Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa and Canada Research Chair in internet and e-commerce law, said Tuesday he was surprised to hear Guilbeault’s view that government support for the news media is not the long-term solution, “given his government has consistently pointed to its various programs as the right way to go.”
Guilbeault’s suggestion that Canada might follow France’s model of making large tech companies pay news publishers when they link to their content is new, Geist said, adding that an earlier government’s review of copyright did not recommend adopting such a reform.
While Guilbeault appears to clearly favour large internet companies paying for news content, Geist said the strategy brings risks, including that online platforms “will simply stop linking to Canadian news media.”
Australia’s code has drawn the ire of the tech giants, with Facebook rejecting the idea of payments to news organizations in a submission this week to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
According to news reports, Facebook suggested it doesn’t need to feature news feeds, and argued that it already funds content creation at the news organizations through a variety of initiatives.
On Tuesday, Facebook and The Canadian Press announced a $1-million, yearlong program to create eight journalism jobs to cover issues in local communities across Canada.
In the discussion Tuesday, Guilbeault said finding a system to support a healthy media sector was important to the government.
“Our government profoundly believes in the importance of media to our democracy,” he said. “I don’t think you can have a healthy democracy without having a healthy news and information sector.”
If they are making money out of this, then there should be a system where part of that money goes to people who create it.”
STEVEN GUILBEAULT