Trudeau says other countries are quietly backing Canada in fight over Online News Act

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says other countries are quietly taking Canada's side as giant tech companies push back against his government's Online News Act.

C-18, which passed the House of Commons in June, requires that tech giants Google and Meta pay media outlets for news content they share or otherwise repurpose on their platforms.

Meta already has pulled news and content from Canadian publishers and broadcasters from its platform in Canada in response to the law. Google has threatened to do the same.

Trudeau, who recently returned from a meeting of G20 countries in India, told CBC's Front Burner that other countries are encouraging his government to stand firm.

"Countries around the world are actually — and I heard this again when I was overseas — people saying, 'Stand strong because this really matters,'" he told host Jayme Poisson.

"This is not an easy fight but it's the right fight to be in."

When the Liberals introduced the law — which is modelled on a similar law in Australia — they argued that tech giants have gobbled up a large share of the advertising market upon which news outlets once relied.

The government says Google and Meta had a combined 80 per cent share of the $14 billion in online ad revenue in Canada in 2022.

As a news organization, the CBC could see a financial benefit under C-18, which requires that the CBC provide an annual report on any compensation for news it receives from digital operators.

Trudeau's comments come as governments abroad consider regulations for their own jurisdictions.

A bill in California similar to the Online News Act could soon become law; Meta has threatened to remove news from its platforms in that state. The New Zealand government is also taking public input on its own bill.

Trudeau said other jurisdictions are watching how the Online News Act rolls out in Canada.

"They're [saying], 'You go Canada, you take this fight.' So we'll do it. We don't mind doing it because it's so important," he said.

Earlier this month, the government released draft regulations for C-18 and estimated that Google and Meta would have to pay a combined $234 million to media outlets in order to comply.