Juan J. Monroe 
Canada pledged on Thursday to do Facebook Inc. To pay for news content, seeking allies in the media battle with tech giants and pledging not to back down if the social media platform shuts down the countryit is news as was the case in Australia.
Facebook blocked all Australians news content on its service about proposed legislation requiring it and Alphabet Inc. Google at To pay fees to Australian publishers for news connections.
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Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, tasked with crafting similar legislation to be unveiled in the coming months, condemned Facebookand said that would not deter Ottawa.
“Canada is at the forefront of this battle…we are really among the first group of countries in the world to do this,” he told reporters.
Last year, Canadian media warned of a potential market failure without gogovernment action. They said the Australian approach would allow publishers to recoup C$620 million a year. Without action they warned, Canada would lose 700 print journalism jobs out of a total of 3,100.
Guilbeault said Canada could adopt the Australian model, which requires Facebook and Google to reach offers at To pay news outlets whose links drive activity on their services, or agree a price through binding arbitration.
Another option is to follow the example of France, which obliges large technology platforms to open discussions with publishers seeking remuneration for the use of news contents.
“We are working to see which model would be most appropriate,” he said, adding that he had spoken last week to his French, Australian, German and Finnish counterparts about working together to ensure fair compensation for content. website.
“I suspect that soon we will have five, 10, 15 countries adopting similar rules … is Facebook gowant to cut ties with Germany, with France? he asked saying that at some point FacebookThe approach of would become “totally unsustainable”.
Megan Boler, a professor at the University of Toronto who specializes in social media, said that Facebook action marked a turning point that would require a common international approach.
“We could actually see a coalition, a united front against this monopoly, which could be very powerful,” she said in a phone interview.
This week, Facebook noted news accounts for less than 4% of the content people see on the platform, but claimed it helped Australian publishers generate around A$407 million last year.
Google has signed 500 deals worth approximately $1 billion over three years with publishers around the world for its new News Showcase service and is in talks with Canadian companies.
Guilbeault said Google would still be subject to the new new Canadian law, as Ottawa wanted a fair, transparent and predictable approach.
“What does it mean that Google – tomorrow, in six months, in a year – doesn’t change his mind and says he doesn’t want to do this anymore? ” he said.
Lauren Skelly, spokesperson for Google in Canada, declined to comment on Guilbeault’s remarks, saying the company did not know the specifics of the legislation.
Michel Geist, Canada Research Chair in Internet and Electronic Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, said Canada should aspire to Gothe ogle approach, where companies invest in value-added content.
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“If we follow the Australian model…we’ll end up pretty much in the same place,” he said over the phone. “Everyone is a loser. Media organizations are losing… Facebook loses.
Kevin Chan, Head of Public Policy for Facebook in Canada, said there were “other options to support news in Canada this will more evenly benefit publishers of all sizes.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by David GregoRio)
