Google warns Ottawa’s Online News Act would ‘break’ its search engine | Globe and Mail - Bill Curry:
May 16, 2022 - "Google is ramping up its opposition to the federal government’s Online News Act, warning the proposed new law would 'break' its popular search engine. Google Canada vice-president and managing director Sabrina Geremia released a detailed criticism of the bill Monday in an online post, stating the bill as currently drafted would likely make Canada’s news industry worse off and would hurt Canadians’ ability to find quality information.
"One of the social-media giant’s biggest concerns is language in the bill that prohibits 'digital news intermediary operators' – a category that would apply to Google and other search engines – from giving 'undue or unreasonable preference' to specific news items. The company argues this language is unclear and puts at risk the core function of Google’s search engine, which is to provide ranked responses to a search query.
"It also states that requiring Google to pay the news organizations that appear in search results amounts to a 'link tax' and could mean consumers receive less information. 'The ability to link freely between websites is fundamental to how the internet works,' Ms. Geremia states. 'Canadians expect that when they search for information, they will have access to ALL the content the internet has to offer. Requiring payment for links risks limiting Canadians’ access to the information they depend on. The Online News Act would break this critical principle of the internet for everyone.'
"Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez introduced Bill C-18, the Online News Act, last month. The goal of the bill is to compel global tech companies such as Facebook and Google to negotiate payment agreements with news organizations as compensation for news content that appears on the large platforms. The legislation is modelled after a similar approach enacted last year in Australia."
Google contacts each MP over fast-tracking of online news bill through Commons | CTV News - Marie Woolf, Canadian Press:
June 1, 2022 - "Google has taken the extraordinary step of writing to every MP and senator expressing fears that the online news bill is being rushed through Parliament without proper debate or consideration. In its letter, Google warns that the bill needs more scrutiny because of its implications, including for the way the search engine ranks content and elevates information from 'trusted sources'....
"Google says ... the bill has a very broad definition of 'eligible news businesses' and could mean that 'foreign state-owned outlets could be eligible even if they are known sources of misinformation and propaganda.' The letter also warns that, as currently worded, the bill's 'undue preference' provision may 'prohibit features that elevate information from trusted sources (including government information) or reduce low quality information (including from eligible foreign state media outlets). The breadth of this provision threatens potential liability for any type of ranking or moderation of news content or any action that might have a negative impact on any outlet, even if that outlet is known to produce propaganda or disinformation,' the letter adds....
"The government has fast-tracked the bill through the Commons, reducing the amount of time it is debated on the floor of the House before going into committee for closer scrutiny....Conservative House leader John Brassard accused the government of 'limiting and stifling debate' of the bill by MPs. 'I'm profoundly disappointed they moved a time allocation on such a highly contentious bill that needs significant work,' he said. 'What they are doing is simply bypassing the House of Commons. We only had two hours of debate on C-18 and, as the official Opposition, we only had one speaker.'
"Google spokeswoman Lauren Skelly said: 'Getting this right is much more important than getting it done quickly.' She said Google wrote to MPs and senators because it was important for them to 'know where we stand' and said the bill as currently written was 'deeply flawed.' She added, in a statement, that Google was 'strongly in favour of contributing financially to support a sustainable future for journalism and the news ecosystem in Canada.'"
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