Canada is poised to take over Facebook, following the example of Australia, which started a war with the technology giant when the country’s publishers backed proposed legislation requiring payment for their content.
Canadian Heritage Secretary Steven Guilbeault condemned Facebook’s actions as “deeply irresponsible” last week when the social media giant removed all Australian news content from its sites in retaliation.
Guilbeault warned Canada would be next in line to get Facebook to pay for news content from Canadian publishers. Guilbeault is in charge of drafting legislation in the coming months, which will require Facebook and Google from Alphabet Inc to pay.
“Canada is at the forefront of this fight … we really are among the first group of countries around the world to do this,” Guilbeault told reporters.
Guilbeault said he recently met with government ministers from Australia, Finland, France and Germany to work out a common front regarding Google and Facebook, the Globe and Mail reported.
“It was the first ministerial meeting where we started to talk together about what we want to do together regarding web giants, including fair compensation for media. We believe the unity is really strong at that, “he said, adding that the growing coalition of countries opposed to Facebook and Google could reach 15 soon.” I’m a little curious what Facebook’s reaction will be. Will Facebook cut ties with Germany, France, Canada, Australia and other countries that will join? At some point, Facebook’s position will be completely untenable. “
In Canada, critics of the social media giants welcomed the country’s stance on the tech giants. Last week, Canadian legislator Alexandre Boulerice filed a motion in the House of Commons condemning Facebook’s actions, saying that ‘Facebook harassment’ has no place in a democracy.
“We see a very important turning point in challenging the monopoly that big technology has,” said Megan Boley, a professor of media studies at the University of Toronto in an interview with The Post. “Right now they are deciding what is the truth for the whole world. What’s exciting is that this is an issue that countries can unite on Facebook and Google and remain accountable. “
But others took to Twitter to quash Guilbeault’s plan. “If you force companies to pay for every link they make to another site, you’re basically breaking the internet”, tweeted @mattolan. “This hurts the Canadian media; it doesn’t help. This is a very ill-conceived plan. “
Last year, Canadian publishers sought government action against the tech giants, warning that the country could lose hundreds of jobs in print journalism. By following the Australian approach, Canadian publishers would recoup nearly $ 500 million. That approach would require the tech giants to make deals to pay for news outlets whose links to stories direct users to their sites.
“We cannot respond to proposed legislation until we have seen a draft,” Kevin Chan, Global Director and Head of Public Policy, Facebook Canada, said in a statement. “We believe there are other options to support news in Canada that will benefit publishers of all sizes more fairly and recognize the value that platforms bring to news organizations. We are ready to work together on these complex issues. “