What’s the price of hubris? Or online news?.According to Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, it’s about $234 million — $172 million for Google and $62 million for Facebook — to pay to play news content in Canada on their social media platforms..The federal government on Friday published its long-awaited draft regulations under C-18, the Online News Act, that proposes to “level the playing field” between Silicon Valley tech giants and Canada’s state-sponsored news media..The figure was considerably less than the $329 million the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated the move would raise last year. And it also contained exemptions for ‘in kind’ contributions in lieu of cash payments..In 2021, online advertising revenue in Canada reached $12.3 billion, with Google and Meta accounting for 79% between them..If they do not meet the so-called ‘threshold’ through voluntary agreements with news outlets, they would have to through mandatory bargaining supervised by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which regulates media..The deals must also cover independent local, indigenous and official language minority community news outlets..In the proposed rules, published in the Canada Gazette, those exemptions were identified as a key compromise to keep links to Canadian news content on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram..“The exemption section is a key component of the Act as it provides digital platforms the opportunity to reach fair commercial agreements with a wide range of news businesses and contribute to the sustainability of the news marketplace,” it reads..But Facebook parent company Meta said even that barest of compromises won’t be enough to convince it to change its mind..“As we have communicated to the government, the regulatory process is not equipped to address the fundamentally flawed premise of the Online News Act,” Rachel Curran, head of public policy at Meta Canada said in a statement..“As the legislation is based on the incorrect assertion that Meta benefits unfairly from the news content shared on our platforms, today’s proposed regulations will not impact our business decision to end news availability in Canada.”.Meta unilaterally began throttling Canadian news on Aug. 1, although it is still available in the US and elsewhere. It came under criticism from Prime Minister Trudeau and other provincial and territorial governments for blocking news of the wildfires. .In a pot-and-kettle moment, Trudeau accused Facebook of “putting corporate profits ahead of people’s safety.”.Now that the rules have been published, the official comment period begins on Sept. 2 and is to be finalized by the summer of next year..As of late 2022, the Canadian government had poured about $595 million into its media bailout program through various tax credits and direct payments, according to the Canadian taxpayers Federation..That doesn’t include COVID-19 wage subsidies that the CTF pegged at $13,750 per person. Nor does it include the $1 billion granted annually to the CBC..The Western Standard does not receive government handouts for its news content even though it is eligible.
