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Canada: The print press will receive two-thirds of Google's contributions

Canada: The print press will receive two-thirds of Google's contributions

By م.زهير الشاعر

Published: December 19, 2023

The Canadian federal government announced that the print press will receive about two-thirds of the financial contributions recently pledged by the giant "Google" group to the media in exchange for publishing content specific to the latter.

At the end of November, Ottawa concluded "historic" negotiations with the giant group headquartered in California, stipulating that "Google" will provide 100 million dollars per year to Canadian press groups as compensation for the loss of advertising revenue.

A government official said: "The share for television and radio bodies is 30%, compared to 7% for CBC/Radio-Canada (which is the Canadian public broadcasting corporation), leaving 63% for the print press."

According to the federal official, the largest share of the aid goes to the print press because it "actually relies" on electronic platforms to publish its content.

Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale Saint-Onge said: "Canada has made a historic step," reminding that "newsrooms are witnessing a crisis affecting the press, which is one of the pillars of our democracy."

The agreement concluded between "Google" and Canada falls within the framework of the new online news law known as "C-18", which came into effect on Tuesday, and came at the initiative of Justin Trudeau's government aiming to limit the deterioration of the press in Canada.

The company "Meta", concerned with this legislation, still opposes the legal text. Since August 1st, Facebook and Instagram have blocked news posts in Canada to avoid providing compensation to the country's media institutions.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: "We will continue to pressure Meta, which makes billions in profits without any intention to invest in the stability and accuracy of the press."

Several Canadian media outlets are facing a difficult financial situation, and several social plans have been announced in recent weeks.

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