The Conservatives plan to level the digital broadcasting playing field in Canada by making Google and Facebook pay their fair share of taxes..A similar threat by the Australian government earlier this year saw Google shut down its services in that country. The Liberals said at the time they were also planning on bringing in a tax..It is the same bailout model that big Canadian mainstream media companies are demanding from Ottawa..“(The Conservatives will) introduce a digital media royalty framework to ensure that Canadian media outlets are fairly compensated for the sharing of their content by platforms like Google and Facebook..“We will secure a level playing field for Canadian media, ensuring that Canadians are paid fairly for the content they create while encouraging the creation of more Canadian media and culture,” said the Conservative platform released this week..The Conservatives said they will:.• Introduce a digital media royalty framework to ensure that Canadian media outlets are fairly compensated for the sharing of their content by platforms like Google and Facebook..• It will Adopt a made in Canada approach that incorporates the best practices of jurisdictions like Australia and France..• Include a robust arbitration process and the creation of an intellectual property right for.article extracts shared on a social media platform..• Ensure that smaller media outlets are included and that the government won’t be able to pick and choose who has access to the royalty framework..• Introduce a Digital Services Tax representing 3% of gross revenue in Canada to make web giants pay their fair share..• Significantly reduce the amount of money the government is spending on advertising with big foreign tech companies like Twitter and instead direct federal ad dollars to Canadian media, including community weeklies, regional media, and ethnic media.
