By: Shahab Ahanchin and Matthew Garay
Shahab Ahanchin, a third-year Osgoode Hall Law student, is passionate about consumer rights advocacy. Starting this summer in 2024, Shahab is thrilled to begin his articles at Osler, Hoskin, and Harcourt.
Matthew Garay is a second-year Osgoode Hall Law student. He is dedicated to simplifying consumer rights and empowering individuals to voice their opinions.
Overview
On June 22, 2023, Bill C-18 received royal assent and became Canadian law. What are the details and implications of C-18 on the lives of Canadians?
Many Canadians access news content through digital intermediaries, namely Big Tech giants like Google and Meta (Facebook). Bill C-18 would establish the Online News Act (ONA), which lays the framework requiring these intermediaries to develop pacts with the Canadian digital news sector, which includes traditional media such as newspapers and broadcasters with a digital news presence. Essentially, the objective is to enhance fairness in the Canadian news market given the dominance of Meta and Google in controlling an estimated 80% of the Canadian online ad market. The Bill introduces a new bargaining plan intended to support news businesses to obtain fair compensation when their news content is made available by these intermediaries and generates economic gain. (Government of Canada, 2023)
This means that Google and Meta must pay Canadian content creators who post news on their media to continue their operations in the country. The Bill will not force the Big Tech companies to comply, but rather seeks to bring them to the negotiation table for commercial agreements on potential compensation to the Canadian news media. C-18 has policies similar to Australia’s News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code (Jones & Aiello, 2023). The Canadian Government claims that passing C-18 will boost Canadian news revenue. This will be achieved through the payments made to the Canadian news industry by these giant companies. According to the PBO (write out the acronym) report, the C-18 will generate around $329M (this needs to be revised downward in light of the Canadian government deal with Google for $100M which is lower than the Canadian Government’s original estimate which was significantly higher) for the Canadian news outlets. Broadcasters such as the CBC, Bell, Shaw, and Rogers will get approximately $247M. Newspapers and online media would get approximately $81M of that amount annually (Edwards, 2023). (The CBC’s amount is restricted to a small portion of the amount – see latest news)
To be considered a digital news platform under the Act, there needs to be a “significant bargaining power imbalance between an operator and news businesses”. This is defined by two criteria.
Firstly, the platform needs to have a total global revenue of C$1 billion or more in a calendar year. Secondly, the platform operates a search engine or social media site, providing news content in Canada, with an average of at least 20M monthly visits. (Aiello, 2023) The eligible platforms are given 180 calendar days to comply after the act has taken effect. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) would support and oversee the administration of the regime.
Platforms will also need to notify CRTC after meeting the stipulated criteria. However, the exclusion from the Act can be made under various agreements. This can apply to those who are committed to the production of Canadian content. It can also involve the protection of journalism independence and the editorial process. Some platforms that have already agreed with the Canadian government over the C-18 include Apple, and Google. However, Meta has not agreed to provide compensation and has blocked Canadian news along with any foreign news from its platforms. In other circumstances, some of these Big Tech companies have partnered with news organizations, including The Globe and Mail, to pay for the rights to use their news articles (Edwards, 2023). For instance, the Canadian government reached a deal with Google on November 29th, 2023. Under this deal, the tech giant will pay $100 million annually, adjusted for inflation, to news publishers and will continue to allow access to Canadian news content through its platform. (Jones & Aiello, 2023) These news publishers include independent news entities as well as those representing Indigenous and official-language minority communities. (Canadian Heritage, 2023)
What is the issue?
Canada’s Broadcasting Act aims to ensure Canada’s broadcasting system strengthens Canada’s cultural fabric. This is done by promoting the consumption of Canadian content which in turn promotes Canadian talent (Pugh, 2023). To achieve this, Canada has set out rules that define its programming industry and require Big Tech companies like Google and Meta to comply. This will make them allow Canadian content on their platforms as they continue operating in the country. However, the issue is that Meta alleges that the law interferes with its operations in the country and that it does not make use of Canadian news. They must agree with Canadian digital suites that publish their news on the platforms and pay them.
C-18 will impact the way we Canadians access the news as well. According to Federal Statistics (Jones & Aiello, 2023), 69% of Canadians access news online; therefore, C18 will influence this number by increasing or ensuring continued access to Canadians. However, Meta decided to block Canadian content and news feeds on its platforms, meaning Canadians can no longer access the news on Facebook and Instagram (Jones & Aiello, 2023). The federal government also ceased advertising on Facebook and Instagram. This means that those who used to depend on Meta for news cannot continue to enjoy the service. Another criticism of the bill is from the Conservative side, led by Pierre Poilievre. The Conservatives argued that the legislation is an attempt by Trudeau to control the news Canadians see and access online. They call it a form of censorship that should not be allowed as it will make “news disappear from the internet and ban people from seeing news.” (Djuric, 2023)
State of the law in Canada
As was noted earlier, Bill C-18 received royal assent and was enacted into law on June 22nd. However, the law took effect on December 19. The Liberal government introduced the legislation on April 5, 2022. It was tabled in the House of Commons by Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Heritage. He emphasized that the law would correct the existing market imbalance between the Canadian news media and tech companies. C-18 was approved into law in December 2022 by the House of Commons. Now that it is a law, leading platforms must negotiate fairly with big and small news businesses. This will see the Big Tech companies contributing their share to support news sharing, so that they and Canadians can benefit.
Keep in mind that Meta refuses to negotiate any deal on compensation for news with the Canadian Government. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clarified that his administration will not allow Meta’s bullying tactics interfere with Canadian democracy through intimidation (Jones & Aiello, 2023). The PM also slammed Meta’s decision to withdraw rather than negotiate with news suites to compensate them. The law stipulates the requirements for producing news content of public interest. It also proposes employing two or more journalists in Canada, and operating in Canada (Jones & Aiello, 2023). Those who want exclusion must be within 20% of the average relative journalist compensation. They must also commit to producing news content and protecting journalistic independence and the editorial process (Jones & Aiello, 2023). However, this impact is primarily felt by giant tech companies, such as Google and Meta.
Analysis of the issues facing consumers
Upon the C-18 bill becoming law, it brings various issues to all of us, consumers of media content in Canada. Firstly, it blocks the Canadian media’s freedom of accessing the news as some media platforms, like Meta, terminate the availability of news in Canada. This also limits the sources of news that Canadians used to have before the bill, as they could access news from Facebook and Instagram powered by Meta in addition to provisions by Google.
There is a form of censorship in media where consumers get what is passed by the law. This interferes with the free flow of information online due to payment for links. Also, the consumers risk getting unverified news, as one cybersecurity personnel, Ritesh Kotak, argues (Jones & Aiello, 2023) which has the potential to lead to the consumption of false information.
According to the study, a huge percentage of Canadians access news online (Jones & Aiello, 2023). Thus, banning online media platforms due to lack of conformity to the bill interferes with consumers’ choices and independence. This means that the government decides what they can see or access, and this constrains their freedom. In addition, Canadian Government regulations on Meta and Google will increase media illiteracy (Jones & Aiello, 2023). This will result from the lack of comparison in the news Canadians consume. This will mean that they cannot criticize the information’s credibility and determine whether it is true or false.
The consumers are also required to subscribe to news outlets, which comes at a cost amid the regulations under the C-18 bill. This affects how Canadians access their news as they have to share the burden of charges with platforms. Indeed, the business news consumers have been negatively affected since Meta blocked the advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. This has brought a blow to both buyers and sellers who depend on such platforms for their business.
Recommendations
The government and policymakers can undertake various solutions to the issues facing Canadian media consumers. These include:
- Firstly, the government and policymakers should enact friendly laws and encourage fair trade with media platforms. The policies must be inclusive and not target giant tech like Google and Meta alone but all other companies. This will encourage them to invest in the country rather than scare them like the C18 bill did, making Meta block Canadian news. This will allow Canadians more news sources and solve the issue of news inaccessibility.
- Additionally, both the government and tech companies should establish common ground and seek agreement. This will see the parties have friendly bargaining and agreement rather than imposing tough measures that made Meta withdraw. On the other hand, the government should seek to allow more time for the companies to assess if they can conform to the law. The 180 calendar days may be too short as they do not even cover a trading year. Also, allowing the fulfilment of the regulations in steps rather than all of a sudden at the beginning can work out better. This will solve the issue of banning media platforms and avoiding media illiteracy when media platforms are few.
- It is good to promote Canadian content; however, the government should not stipulate the percentage of content the platforms should air. This will avoid censorship of news consumers receive and allow them independence of what they should access. It will also allow the free flow of information online. Also, letting the platforms capture the Canadian content out of free will works better than enforcement.
Conclusion
C-18 bill requires large digital intermediaries like Google and Meta to pay the Canadian news sites in accessing and distributingtheir news content. With C18, platforms like Meta withdrew Canadian news from their platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. This blocked Canadians’ ability to access the news through such platforms. However, even after issuing the same threats as Meta, Google finally reached an agreement where it pays $100M yearly to the Canadian news industry.
In response to this bill, the Conservative opposition called C-18 interference in what Canadians can access, alleging the law is a form of news censorship. On the other hand, Canadian revenue from advertisement was projected to increase from regulations of C-18 legislation. The benefits to Canadians are unclear since it has the unexpected consequences of hindering Canadian media consumers’ freedom to access news of their choice with Meta’s refusal to capitulate, leading to news illiteracy, which allows misinformation and disinformation to proliferate. However, these issues can be solved by clear and fair government regulations, along with a willingness to balance compensation with Canadian interests in accessing news content in C-18.
References
Canadian Heritage. (2023, December 15). Minister St-Onge releases final regulations for the online news act. Cision Canada. https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/minister-st-onge-releases-final-regulations-for-the-online-news-act-884496745.html
Edwards, S. (2023, February 28). What is Bill C-18, and how could it affect how Canadians use the internet? The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-bill-c18-online-news-law-explained/
Government of Canada. (2023, November 27). Charter statement Bill C-18: An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada. Government of Canada, Department of Justice, Electronic Communications. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/pl/charter-charte/c18_1.html#:~:text=The%20Bill%20introduces%20a%20new,intermediaries%20and%20generates%20economic%20gain
Jones, A. M., & Aiello, R. (2023, July 20). Understanding Bill C-18: Canada’s Online News Act and its proposed rules, explained. CTVNews. https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/understanding-bill-c-18-canada-s-online-news-act-and-its-proposed-rules-explained-1.6488532
Pugh, J. (2023, March 3). A new streaming bill is close to becoming law in Canada. Here’s how it works. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/bill-c-11-explained-1.6759878
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