Alphabet Inc.’s Google is escalating a test run to limit what kind of news content can be seen on its search engine by Canadians, which they consider a potential response to the online news act by the government of Canada.
Test By the Google
The tech giant confirmed on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, that it is rolling out tests to limit access to news content for some users in Canada. A Google spokesperson informed Reuters in an email that they are evaluating potential product responses to the Online News Act and that thousands of tests are run annually to determine any potential changes to Search. The tech giant homologated the limited visibility of national and international news in Canada through these tests. The tests, which will probably run for five weeks, are time-bound and affect a random sample of about 4% of Canadian users.
The Online News Act
Introduced by the liberal government of Justin Trudeau in April, House of Commons Bill C-18, or the Online News Act, formulates the rules to regulate the digital intermediaries like Facebook and Google, to settle commercial conciliation, and to finance the publishers for their content. Many people in Canada access news content via digital platforms. The Online News Act will be enacted by Bill C-18, which formulates a system to govern digital intermediaries in Canada.
Need Of The Bill
According to Pablo Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Heritage Minister, access to substantiated and quality news at both regional and national level is essential for citizens of Canada, and the Online News Act will help in making the tech giants more transparent and liable.
This will promote the fairness and transparency in the digital news market of Canada and will provide a framework to espouse news businesses for fair pay in cases when their content is utilized by potent digital news intermediaries to proliferate income. It aims to balance parley between dominating digital news platforms and businesses that includes news outlets to generate news content.
Responses Of Tech Giants Over Rules Laid By Different Countries
Google terminated its News service in Spain for seven years, post a monthly charge termed as the licensing fee for the news outlets and publishers who generated the news content displayed in company’s platform. The company also browbeat to do the same with its search engine in Australia in response to the News Media Bargaining Code of the country.
Facebook also warned Ottawa about blocking the process to share news contents on its platform due to its legislation that coerces digital intermediaries to finance the publishers of news content. Australia also witnessed a brief shutdown of Facebook news feed in March 2001 after a coequal law.
Strict Laws To Regulate Digital Platforms
Google also warned to block its news services in the country last year. In a statement on Wednesday, Spokeswoman Laura Scaffidi claimed that such admonition didn’t work in Australia, and it won’t work in Canada too as Canadians won’t be daunted and their demand to ask tech giants for compensating the journalists for their work used by the company is equitable.
The news media in Canada also solicited government for more obligations of tech companies that have been acquiring greater profit from advertising while the journalists and other new content creators faced financial losses. Since 2008, the number of news outlets that have been shut down in the country has exceeded to over 450.