Google won’t rule out blocking news in Canada if Liberal bill passes, exec tells MPs

Earlier this year, Google ran a five-week test that prevented 3.3 per cent of its Canadians users from seeing news links when searching for journalism on its search engine.

A senior executive says Google hasn’t made a final decision whether it will limit journalism links from Canadians if the federal government’s online news bill passes.

Earlier this year, Google ran a five-week test that prevented 3.3 per cent of its Canadians users from seeing news links when searching for journalism on its search engine. It affected more than one million IP addresses, Google confirmed.

While the test ended in March, it remains a longer-term option for Google in response to the bill, which it opposes.

“We are continuing to raise concerns … we think there’s a better model,” said Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs and chief legal officer, while testifying Thursday at the Canadian Heritage committee.

“We have not reached a final decision as to what business actions we might have to take.”

The online news bill, also known as Bill C-18, would require tech giants to pay Canadian media companies for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online.

Walker appeared alongside Google’s vice-president for news, Richard Gingras, as the committee studied the actions of the Silicon Valley giant.

Gingras said the bill’s passage would incentivize clickbait content over high-quality local journalism, and likely require the company to pay publishers for non-factual or misleading content. It “threatens to create a situation where everybody loses, ” he said.