Canada

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News Media Canada, the organization representing some of the country’s largest news organizations, is urging the federal government to accommodate Google’s specific concerns regarding Bill C-18, the Online News Act.

The legislation is scheduled to take effect Dec. 19, creating an urgent deadline in the showdown between Google and Ottawa.

The bill was inspired by a similar law in Australia and is aimed at encouraging large platforms such as Google and Facebook to strike licensing deals with publishers. Smaller publishers would be encouraged to bargain collectively in an effort to address power imbalances.

Google and Facebook have strongly opposed the bill, describing it as unworkable. Facebook has already removed Canadian news from its platform in order to avoid falling under the terms of the legislation.

Google responded^[^^archive.org^^]^ to the government’s draft regulations Friday, raising a host of concerns. The company said it would follow through on plans to pull Canadian news entirely unless the final version of the regulations address its concerns. The company has also expressed skepticism that such issues can even be addressed through regulation. It has called on the government to start over with an entirely new bill.

News Media Canada, which represents publishers such as The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Postmedia and La Presse, does not support starting over. It said in a statement to The Globe that the government should address Google’s concerns through the final version of its regulations.

“Google’s submission is a welcome, clear, constructive, good faith articulation of legitimate concerns. We are in agreement with many of the issues they have raised,” said Paul Deegan, News Media Canada’s president and chief executive officer.

“We are aligned that there should be a firm ceiling, rather than a floor on financial liability. We also agree that eligible publishers must have an online presence, non-monetary measures such as training and product can be part of the remuneration, and parties need incentives to enter into negotiation, rather than holding out. We are ready to sit down and work through the detail of these issues before the regulations are finalized. Google plays an essential role in helping Canadians find trusted news sources, and we are confident there is a path forward for the company and publishers to continue what has been a mutually beneficial relationship for many years to come.”

The statement represents a significant olive branch from large publishers, who have generally been supportive of the government’s original proposals.

In its submission on Friday, Google Canada repeated its position that Bill C-18 is based on “a fundamentally flawed premise” that platforms such as Google are unfairly profiting from the sharing of news.

The company said the eligibility criteria for news businesses are “vague, expansive and often inconsistent, allowing some businesses to benefit even if they do not produce news content or adhere to journalistic standards.”

The draft regulations include exemption provisions in which, as in Australia, platforms could operate outside of the new rules if they independently strike agreements with publishers. But Google said these provisions are also too vague and broad.

“This is a fundamental difference between the Act and the Australian News Media Bargaining Code,” Google said.

Furthermore, Google’s submission takes issue with the draft regulations for not setting financial limits on a platform’s obligations.

“We continue to have significant concerns that the core issues ultimately may not be solvable through regulations and that legislative changes may be necessary,” the company said.

A spokesperson for Google declined to comment Thursday on News Media Canada’s latest statement.

A spokesperson for Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said the office would respond later on Thursday.