This deal comes as the federal government's controversial online news legislation is set to take effect at the end of this year.
The Online 51°µÍø Act will essentially compel tech giants to enter into compensation agreements with news publishers.
Ostensibly, this is to ensure Canadian news outlets are properly compensated for providing content that generates traffic for platforms such as Google and Meta-owned Facebook.
I am personally not a fan of the government coming in and forcibly redistributing private wealth to a handful of “eligible” media outlets.
Is this much-needed help for an essential industry in dire straights, or does this just establish an uncomfortable precedent and give the government another way to have control over news companies?
I would have preferred an industry boycott of Facebook and Google rather than having Trudeau use the government gun.
Still, the $100 million will go a long way to stabilizing Canadian news, which has been experiencing unprecedented layoffs, downsizing and closures over the past decade, if not longer.
Those worried about Google banning news from appearing in Canada can also sigh in relief now.
With 51°µÍø’s Facebook and Instagram not visible to Canadian readers, a Google news ban would have been devastating for our digital readership.
Of course, $100 million is hardly any money at all for a company like Google, so this is just them throwing scraps to get the vultures to stop squawking.
Seeing how easily Canada is bought off, Mark Zuckerberg should probably follow Google’s lead rather than continuing the draconian news ban on Facebook and Instagram.
The true price of victory, however, remains uncertain.
