Google announced on Friday that it had paid Can$100 million to Canadian news outlets for using their content on its platform as part of an agreement with the government to offset losses in advertising revenue.
Canada passed the Online News Act in 2023, joining Australia and several European countries in implementing policies requiring tech platforms to compensate struggling news publishers.
Google and Meta, which together control about 80 per cent of all advertising revenue in Canada, had been accused of diverting revenue from traditional news organisations while using news content for free.
The Google funds, equivalent to US$69 million, were transferred to the Canadian Journalism Collective, a non-profit organisation established to distribute the money, a spokesperson for the tech giant confirmed.
California-based Google also told AFP that it plans to continue the arrangement, with another payment expected at the end of 2025.
Paul Deegan, president of News Media Canada, an organisation of major publishers and broadcasters, described the landmark deal as “far superior” to similar arrangements in other jurisdictions, with Canadian news groups expected to receive up to Can$20,000 per journalist.
The funding, he said, will provide newsrooms with a much-needed boost “to produce more high-quality coverage of our democratic institutions,” while Google “benefits tremendously from the fact-based, fact-checked content our journalists produce.”
The Canadian act aims to support the local news sector, which has seen advertising dollars dwindle and hundreds of publications close over the past decade.
Meta’s Facebook and Instagram blocked news content in Canada to avoid compensating media companies.
Google had also threatened to take similar action before announcing the funding deal, which was approved by Canada’s broadcast regulator in October.
Under the terms of the agreement, broadcasters will receive 30 per cent of the Google funds, with the remainder distributed among news publishers.
Google also struck a deal last year with the US state of California to provide funding aimed at sustaining local news organisations.
