Media giants should pay
Remember when Google's motto was “don't be evil”? Now the company is part of a campaign that threatens a founding principle of democracy and an informed society.
Google has begun “testing” its product by blocking some Canadians' ability to access links to news sites. The media giant said it was figuring out how it would comply with Bill C-18 should it become law. But news companies and the government saw the move for what it was: a warning shot designed to scare off legislators who would dare to regulate the company.
Bill C-18, known as the Online News Act, seeks to compel Google and Meta, which owns Facebook, to strike deals with publishers whose content is shared on these platforms.
It's an idea that has the support of a majority of Canadians. More than 80 per cent of people polled in March 2021 by Nanos Research for journalism advocacy group Friends, said Facebook and Google should pay news organizations for the content they create.
Friends executive director
Maria Boltman put it this way:
“If Google and Facebook want to continue to make billions in ad revenues off the backs of Canadian-made news content, it's time they start paying for it.”
Meta spokesperson Lisa Laventure, however, argues, “Publishers voluntarily choose to share content on Facebook to grow their audiences and advertising revenue.”
Laventure ignores the fact that sites like hers have all the advantages when people have been conditioned to get more of their news from social media and less from the newsstand.
It's also insulting to suggest publishers use Facebook to grow advertising when the reality is the social media giants have eaten up a lot of the online advertising dollars available in any market while neglecting to put any of that money back into those communities.
Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., recorded revenues of US$283 billion in 2022, while Meta had advertising revenue of US$113.6 billion. When was the last time they sponsored a local club or event? How many people do they employ in the community? In fact, the “testing” Google carried out blocking Canadians' access to legitimate news sources only underscores how little the company cares about its consumers' well-being, because it led their queries to less credible sources and exposed readers to misinformation.
Meta used this tactic when Australia brought in similar legislation in 2021, and purposely blocked not only news sites, but government and public-health websites carrying information citizens might need in the middle of a pandemic. Meta said it would do the same in Canada if the Online News Act becomes law.
“All we're asking Facebook to do is negotiate fair deals with news outlets when they profit from their work,” Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said in a statement March 13. “This is part of a disappointing trend this week that tech giants would rather pull news than pay their fair share.”
Laventure said news links “are not the reason the vast majority of people use our platforms.” Then it should be easy to negotiate a fair price.