As Meta Blocks News, Minister Rodriguez Says He Has No Regrets Over Bill C-18

As Meta Blocks News, Minister Rodriguez Says He Has No Regrets Over Bill C-18
Then Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez (L) speaks at a news conference on Bill C-18, the Online News Act, along with Bloc MP Martin Champoux, in Ottawa on July 5, 2023. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang
Noé Chartier
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The federal minister who sponsored the bill that led to Meta blocking links to Canadian news says he has no regrets over how he personally handled the issue.

“We did the right thing,” Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez told reporters during a press conference in Ottawa on August 9.

Mr. Rodriguez said the status quo is “not an option” since newsrooms are closing their doors and this is “hurting our democracy.”

“We’re just asking them to pay their fair share, not more than this, just their fair share,” he said.

Mr. Rodriguez, the former Heritage minister, was replaced by Pascale St-Onge during a major cabinet shuffle on July 26.

His Bill-C18, the Online News Act, was adopted in June and requires online platforms to pay Canadian publishers for the display of news links.

Meta has retaliated by blocking Canadians’ access to news on its platforms Facebook and Instagram. Google also said it wouldn’t comply, but Mr. Rodriguez said the company has been more open to discussions than Meta.

Mr. Rodriguez defended his bill by saying other jurisdictions such as Australia have passed similar legislation. Australia’s case differs in that it was able to strike deals with the tech companies.

He also mentioned a bill in the state of California having passed the Assembly and bipartisan support on the issue in the U.S. Senate.
The legislation in California has been put on hold and will not be debated in the state Senate until 2024, whereas efforts by U.S. senators to rein in big tech’s power do not mention supporting media outlets financially.

Complaints

Media lobby groups and the CBC filed a complaint on Aug. 8 with the Competition Bureau to investigate Meta’s decision to block news in Canada. They called Meta’s conduct “anticompetitive” and “clearly designed to discipline Canadian news companies.”
The Competition Bureau told The Epoch Times on Aug. 8 it is gathering information and conducting a “thorough and complete examination of the acts” to determine whether Meta’s actions contravened the Competition Act.

Meta has called the Online News Act “fundamentally flawed” and says it “ignores the realities of how our platforms work, the preferences of the people who use them, and the value we provide news publishers.”

The issue is also political, with Conservatives having opposed the legislation. They say Bill C-18 and C-11, which revamped the Broadcasting Act, are attempts by the Liberal government to control information.

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre compared the fallout of Bill C-18 to George Orwell’s “1984” novel.

“You have a prime minister passing a law to make news articles disappear from the internet,” he said on Aug. 1.
Matthew Horwood and Amanda Brown contributed to this report.