Canadian PM Justin Trudeau calls out Google and Meta on their tactics

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stands firm on Canada’s new bill, calling out Meta and Google for their intimidating tactics. 

The Online News Act, as it is known, contains measures that US companies claim are unworkable for their industries.

According to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Alphabet's Google and Meta Platforms are using intimidating strategies against the Canadian initiative to ensure financial support for news publishers.

The new legislation will aim to push internet behemoths like Google and Facebook, owned by Meta, to reach business agreements and compensate content creators.

If the Act is signed into law in its current form, Google and Facebook will limit some users' access to viewing or sharing news material in Canada. The bill was approved by the House of Commons in Canada in December and is now before the unelected upper house of parliament, which almost never overturns legislation approved by the lower house.

The Canadian media sector wants more stringent regulations for internet firms to stop them from driving news organizations out of the online advertising market.

A groundbreaking law passed in Australia in 2021 is identical to the bill introduced in April 2022. According to Google, the proposed regulations are stricter than those in Australia and Europe. Responding to Trudeau's comments, spokesperson Shay Purdy stated that the bill creates severe issues that make it impracticable for their products and services.