New developments in Canada around the ongoing conflict between the Canadian government and internet platforms Google and Meta have reached a new stage regarding the Online News Act (ONA), which aims to require these platforms to financially support news media organizations for using their content. Google and Meta strongly oppose the legislation due to the potential costs involved and have threatened to block Canadian news content as a result.
The author of the book, Hugh Stephens, argues that a compromise is necessary to resolve the standoff, emphasising the importance of reaching mutually beneficial agreements between the platforms and news media organisations. The potential outcomes include final offer arbitration, voluntary agreements, or the platforms opting out of using news content altogether.
Overall, there is a clear need for Google and Meta to address their concerns about potential unlimited liability and the inclusion of existing agreements in the calculation of compensation. And the UK is facing this too. The Canadian government has already taken steps to address these concerns by clarifying issues through the release of a bulletin and emphasizing the importance of compromise.
More on the book here.