Independent Senators Group Sen. Paula Simons (Alberta) said Bill C-18 will not improve Canadian journalism because it jeopardizes media's independence. .“But the idea that we can and should force two American tech giants to underwrite the independent news upon which Canadians rely is a logical and ethical fallacy,” said Simons in a speech in the Senate. .“The bill seems premised on a core proposition the reason print media outlets have lost their revenues is Google and Facebook are somehow stealing their news stories and then monetizing them to sell ads.” .The video starts off with Simons, who used to work as a columnist at the Edmonton Journal, saying Postmedia Network's latest quarterly numbers are bleak. This led to it announcing layoffs. .Postmedia Network announced January 24 it will be cutting 11% of its editorial staff to respond to financial problems — despite receiving massive government bailout cash..READ MORE: Postmedia to eliminate 11% of editorial jobs.“All properties will be affected by layoffs or restructuring,” said Postmedia Acting Senior Vice-President Gerry Nott. .The company — which owns publications such as the Calgary Sun and Herald, the Edmonton Sun and Journal, and the Vancouver Sun and the Province — has about 650 staffers, so an 11% chop means about 70 people will lose their jobs..Simons said many news outlets around the world have been affected by the digital disruption. She added advertisers have moved to online websites. .Bill C-18 will require Facebook and Google to enter into negotiations with news outlets. If these outlets can reach private agreements, they will be exempted. .If these agreements are not accepted, they will be required to enter into arbitration. Simons said it is tempting to want Facebook and Google to pay up. .She said the bill is a fundamental misunderstanding of how digital advertising works. Facebook’s algorithm privileges content which drives engagement. .The ISG senator went on to say a story about the Kamloops school board or a Senate debate does not drive engagement. Facebook tweaked its algorithm to show people more videos to compete with TikTok, providing them with less news. .A study done by the Universite du Quebec a Montreal estimated Facebook made $198.8 million in revenues stemming from journalism in 2022. This number has dropped from $210 million in 2021. .The study posited $99 million of this money could be shared with Canadian media. She said this amount is “not far enough to subsidize newsrooms across the country and especially not if that sums keeps declining.” .Simons asked how independent can news outlets be if they are dependent on Google and Facebook. She said the Senate was debating Bill S-225 in 2021 — a similar bill to Bill C-18 — when it heard from former Globe and Mail editor-in-chief Ed Greenspon. .Greenspon said inviting platforms to negotiate deals with independent publishers could distort the information marketplace. He said advertisers could distort news agendas. .Simons concluded by saying senators should heed Greenspon’s advice. She said C-18 is “creating an even greater economic dependence, and we are giving Google and Facebook even more power than they already have over what we read and what we see.” .“The mechanisms in Bill C-18 render us even more vulnerable to their corporate decisions,” she said. .Former Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission vice chair, communications Peter Menzies said in September Bill C-18 is likely to pervert news coverage and undermine trust. .READ MORE: WATCH: Bill C-18 will 'pervert' Canadian news coverage former CRTC chair testifies."For instance, while newspapers in Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Calgary will benefit from Bill C-18 money, not one of them directs its own reporter in the parliamentary press gallery,” said Menzies..“Yet the Western Standard, which has declined to submit government approval, does."
