The Canadian Parliament has passed a law that will require technology companies to pay domestic news outlets for linking to their articles, prompting the owner of Facebook and Instagram to say that it would pull news articles from both platforms in the country.
The NY Times reports the law, passed on Thursday, is the latest salvo in a push by governments around the world to force big companies like Google and Facebook to pay for news that they share on their platforms — a campaign that the companies have resisted at virtually every turn.
With some caveats, the new Canadian law would force search engines and social media companies to engage in a bargaining process — and binding arbitration, if necessary — for licensing news content for their use.
The law, the Online News Act, was modeled after a similar one that passed in Australia two years ago. It was designed to “enhance fairness in the Canadian digital news marketplace and contribute to its sustainability,” according to an official summary. Exactly when the law would take effect was not immediately clear as of Friday morning.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, had previously warned lawmakers that it would stop making news available on both platforms for Canadian users if the legislation passed. The company said on Thursday that it now planned to do just that, The Associated Press reported. Representatives for Meta, Facebook and Instagram did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Google told Canadian lawmakers in May that debate over the legislation had created unrealistic expectations among politicians and news publishers of “an unlimited subsidy for Canadian media.” Among other changes, Google suggested requiring tech firms to pay for “displaying” news content, not linking to it.
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