The Online News Act gained royal assent in June last year and is designed to support the news industry by requiring large online tech companies to pay Canadian media outlets for posting their journalism. Currently only Google is covered by the act after Meta, which was sharply critical of Bill C-18, blocked the posting of news on Facebook and Instagram.Marcio Jose Sanchez/The Associated Press
Canadian news organizations are set to receive their first slice of an annual $100-million payout from Google after the broadcasting regulator made a ruling on Monday that means the payments can now go ahead.
Almost a year after the government struck a deal with Google to pay Canadian news organizations for posting their journalism, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has given the green light for the money to flow by ruling the deal exempts Google from regulation under the Online News Act.
Under an agreement after the passing of Bill C-18 last year, Google agreed to pay $100-million a year, indexed to inflation, to be distributed to eligible news businesses based on the number of full-time journalists they employ.
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The decision means that news publishers and broadcasters, including the CBC, could receive their first cash injection as early as next year.
The Online News Act, which gained royal assent in June last year, is designed to support the news industry by requiring large online tech companies to pay Canadian media outlets for posting their journalism.
Currently only Google is covered by the act after Meta, which was sharply critical of Bill C-18, blocked the posting of news on Facebook and Instagram.
The law is designed to stem the closing of newsrooms as advertising continues to migrate to tech platforms. Almost two-thirds of the $100-million Google funds will go to written media, including local papers serving francophone and Indigenous communities.
Ottawa capped CBC’s share of the funds at $7-million, with other broadcasters getting no more than $30-million.
Paul Deegan, president and chief executive of News Media Canada, which represents print media including local papers and The Globe and Mail, said they stand to get around $63-million a year.
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Under the act, tech giants can request an exemption from regulation if they reach an agreement with an organization that represents a broad range of Canadian news organizations.
Google selected The Canadian Journalism Collective, a non-profit group of independent publishers and broadcasters, to distribute the money to eligible Canadian news organizations.
In June, 2024, Google filed an application to be exempt from the act. The CRTC on Monday granted a five-year exemption to Google, saying it must pay $100-million to the CJC within 60 days of its decision. The CJC will then distribute the funds to eligible Canadian news organizations.
The CRTC also ruled that the number of freelancers a news organization employs would not be factored into the calculation on how much they will receive. But the number of full-time equivalent journalists they employ will be an important factor.
