TORONTO — The final step required for a parliamentary bill to become law has come for the controversial “Online News Act” in Canada, requiring “the largest digital platforms to bargain fairly with Canadian news businesses for the use of their news content on their services.”
The passage of “Bill C-18” has already led the owner of Facebook and Instagram to respond, sending a chill to those who believe passage of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act of 2023 in the U.S. Senate would bring a similar act from Meta.
With the Online News Act receiving “Royal Assent,” which signals final approval by the Canadian Parliament under rules of the Confederation tied to King Charles III of the United Kingdom, legislators in Ottawa believe the new law “levels the playing field between news businesses and large digital platforms to create greater fairness to ensure sustainability of the news industry.”
The Government of Canada adds that, “through a market-based approach,” it encourages voluntary commercial agreements between platforms and news businesses with minimal government intervention, as well as “crucial safeguards to preserve the independence of the press.”
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Canada’s equivalent of the FCC, will be responsible for overseeing the Online News Act. It will oversee the bargaining, negotiation and external final-offer arbitration processes between platforms and news businesses. It will also create a code of conduct to support fairness and transparency in bargaining.
Fueling Bill C-18 is what the Government of Canada sees as a years-long slump in broadcast media’s fiscal health. It noted that between 2008 and 2020, overall revenue for broadcast television, radio, newspapers and magazines fell by nearly $6 billion CDN. Furthermore, at least one third of Canadian journalism jobs disappeared between 2010 and 2016. Since 2008, 474 news media outlets have closed in 335 communities across Canada.
Then, there is the sudden shutdown by Bell Media of six AM radio stations. At 11am on June 14, News/Talk CJBK-AM 1290 in London, Ont., went dark. “The realities of AM radio in the broadcast media landscape have made this change unavoidable,” Bell Media explained. Also going dark with no buyer are CFRN-AM 1260 “TSN Radio” in Edmonton; CKST-AM “Funny 1040” and CFTE-AM 1410 “BBN Bloomberg Radio” in Vancouver; and CKMX-AM “Funny 1060” in Calgary.
Meanwhile, Bell Media has earmarked three stations that will be sold to an undisclosed buyer as it desperately seeks to stem losses at the company, despite wireless services gains spurred by Rogers’ infamous summer 2022 service outage. Those stations are CKWW-AM 580 in Windsor-Detroit; and CHAM-AM 820 and CKOC-AM 1150 in Hamilton. Sam and Libby Zniber’s Zoomer Radio is rumoured to be a potential buyer for the properties, adding them to its CFZM-AM 740 in Toronto — formerly the home of CBC Radio One.
META TO END NEWS ACCESS IN CANADA
The Online News Act becomes law following its publication in the Canadian equivalent of the Federal Register.
But, the parent of Facebook and Instagram has already responded to Bill C-18’s passage by confirming it will end access to news on its social media sites for all Canadian users.
What does this mean? Meta intends to block news for Canadian users, rather than compensate the creator of these articles and any shared content originating from a recognized news organization.
“We have repeatedly shared that in order to comply with Bill C-18 … content from news outlets, including news publishers and broadcasters, will no longer be available to people accessing our platforms in Canada,” Meta said in a media statement.
On June 7, as Meta conducted a “product test” on ending news access for no more than 5% of the 24 million Canadian consumers using its two social media products, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau commented, “The fact that these internet giants would rather cut off Canadians’ access to local news than pay their fair share is a real problem, and now they’re resorting to bullying tactics to try and get their way. It’s not going to work.”
Bill C-18 was introduced in Ottawa in April 2022. It is based on a similar law in Australia, the first country to enact such legislation. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission data shared by the CBC notes that more than $190 million CDN has been paid to Australian media companies since their law was enacted by Canberra legislators last year.
Meta blocked Australians from sharing news stories on its platforms. However, the Australian government and the company reached an agreement, ending the impasse after just one week.
WASHINGTON ROADBLOCK
Don’t expect the enactment of Bill C-18 in Canada to spur excitement over the JCPA, which was reintroduced in the current Congress by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
Last discussed in a June 15 Senate Commerce Committee hearing, following its March 30 reintroduction after languishing in the last Congressional session, the bill presently has 15 co-sponsors. No new names have been added to the co-sponsor list since May 17.
Then, there is H.R. 2701, the “Online Privacy Act of 2023” introduced in the House on April 19 by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.). This proposed legislation would provide ” for individual rights relating to privacy of personal information, to establish privacy and security requirements for covered entities relating to personal information, and to establish an agency to be known as the Digital Privacy Agency to enforce such rights and requirements, and for other purposes.”
Thus far no one other than California Democrat Zoe Lofgren has signed on as a co-sponsor.
