Canadian media outlets are bracing for a significant setback, as Google announced on Thursday that it will remove news generated in the country from its Search and News and other platforms, following the enactment of contentious legislation by Ottawa.
Canadian media outlets are bracing for a significant setback, as Google announced on Thursday that it will remove news generated in the country from its Search and News and other platforms, following the enactment of contentious legislation by Ottawa.
The Online News Act became law last week and on Thursday, Kent Walker, Google’s president of Global Affairs for Google and Alphabet, said it was “unworkable” and the tech giant has informed the Canadian Government that once the law takes effect, “we unfortunately will have to remove links to Canadian news from our Search, News and Discover products in Canada.”
It will also revisit the Google News Showcase, under which it has agreements with nearly 150 Canadian publications.
“We’re disappointed it has come to this. We don’t take this decision or its impacts lightly and believe it’s important to be transparent with Canadian publishers and our users as early as possible,” Walker said, in a statement posted by Google.
Action from Google follows a similar announcement by Meta last week, also pertaining the removal of Canadian news content from its platforms, Facebook and Instagram. Meta has started cancelling agreements it had in place with Canadian news outlets.