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The bill aims to compensate struggling news organizations, and follows similar moves by Europe and Australia.
Ian Austen and
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government introduced legislation on Tuesday that would require companies like the parents of Google and Facebook to pay Canadian media outlets for allowing links to news content on their platforms.
Canadian publishers, many of which are struggling financially, have long pushed the government for such a measure, arguing that the advertising revenue that previously was the foundation of their businesses has overwhelmingly migrated to global online giants.
That pressure increased after Australia passed a similar measure in 2021 and Europe revised its copyright laws to compensate publishers.
“The news sector in Canada is in crisis,” Pablo Rodriguez, the minister of Canadian heritage, said at a news conference. “This contributes to the heightened public mistrust and the rise of harmful disinformation in our society.”
Mr. Rodriguez said that 450 media outlets in Canada closed between 2008 and last year.
Mr. Rodriguez said the proposed law was broadly similar to Australia’s measures, but would include public reporting requirements and give an independent body, rather than the minister, the power to determine what operations qualify for the subsidies.
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