Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez is expected to introduce the Online News Act (technically An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada), his response to a massive lobbying campaign from Canadian media organizations today. Bill C-18 will hand new power to the CRTC to oversee what are effectively mandatory payments by Internet platforms such as Google and Facebook for the mere appearance of news on their platforms. This represents nothing less than a government-backed shakedown that runs the risk of undermining press independence, increasing reliance on big tech, and hurting competition and investment in Canadian media. I will have several posts in the coming days including an analysis of the bill once it drops and a review of the lobbying campaign for the bill, which included over 100 registered lobbyist meetings by News Media Canada over the past three years and skewed coverage of the issue in which the overwhelming majority of news stories backed government intervention.
Archive for April 5th, 2022
Episode 127: Lucie Guibault on Canada's Approach to Copyright Term Extension
byMichael Geist

May 2, 2022
Michael Geist
April 25, 2022
Michael Geist
April 11, 2022
Michael Geist
April 4, 2022
Michael Geist
March 28, 2022
Michael Geist
Search Results placeholder
Recent Posts
No Comment: Government Moves to End Debate on Online News Bill Despite a No-Show from Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez
Is the Government Seeking to Short Circuit the Senate Review of Bill C-11?
CRTC Chair Confirms Bill C-11 Captures User Content, Will Take Years to Implement
Is There Anything Less Convincing than CRTC Chair Ian Scott’s Empty Assurances on Bill C-11 User Content Regulation?
Digging Into the Government’s Online News Act Claims, Part Two: This is “Minimal Market Intervention”?!