DAVAO CITY –— Google is running a tests which intends to block access to news for some Canadian users, the move is in response to Canada’s bill that could compel large digital platforms like Google and Meta’s Facebook to negotiate deals with publishers to pay them for content they produced
A Reuters report which was published by Verge says “The tests will reportedly impact less than four percent of Canadian users, run for around five weeks, and will “limit the visibility of Canadian and international news to varying degrees.”
This developed as Meta also plans to ban Canadian news on Facebook and Instagram
Google LLC is an American multinational technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics.
Canada’s Bill C18 also known as the Online News Act, will reportedly harm the Internet in Canada.
In April 2022, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez introduced Bill C-18, the Online News Act on April 2022, the report said.
The Act, the law says, aims to help Canadian news media adapt financially to an evolving digital landscape, proposes to force large platforms to compensate news media for making their content available through the sharing of links on their platforms, and make the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) a centralized authority to oversee compliance.
The Bill means centralized management of internet functions and content in Canda which report said, will significantly prevent people and businesses from contributing to the digital economy and jeopardize their safety and security online.
The “Bill-C18,” is currently being considered by the Canadian Senate.
Google is opposing the Bill.
