Half of Canadians Say Feds Should ‘Back Down’ on Online News Act: Poll

Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez participates in a news conference on Bill C-18, the Online News Act, in Ottawa, on July 5, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

As tech giants threaten to block Canadians’ access to online news, a new poll has found that half of Canadians believe the federal government should “back down” on Bill C-18, which calls for big tech companies to financially compensate Canadian news organizations for sharing their content.

“Half of Canadians (49 percent) feel their government should back down, while one-quarter (26 percent) disagree. Nearly as many (25 percent) are uncertain what the government should do,” said a July 10 poll conducted by the Angus Reid Institute.

Bill C-18, which the Department of Canadian Heritage has said will come into force no later than Dec. 19, will require digital news intermediaries such as Google and Meta to pay Canadian news publishers for the content the tech giants link to or share on their platforms. Both tech companies have announced their intentions to block Canadian news on their platforms once the act takes effect.

Conservative respondents were more likely to agree or strongly agree that the government should back down (75 percent), while a smaller percentage of Liberals (32 percent) and New Democrats (34 percent) said the government should rescind the bill.

According to the poll, a total of three out of five Canadians, or 61 percent, say they agree with the premise of Bill C-18, but an almost equal number of people (63 percent) say they are concerned about losing access to Canadian news on Facebook and Google.

Of the 61 percent of Canadians that think tech companies should compensate Canadian news organizations, 42 percent believe that should come in the form of an annual payment, while 20 percent believe Google and Meta should have to pay each time someone clicks a link on their platforms.

Most Canadians Following Bill C-18

The poll also found that 28 percent of Canadians get their news through Facebook, while 23 percent get it through Google News. A smaller number (14 percent) say they get their news using Twitter, while 32 percent go directly to national news sites such as the CBC or The Globe and Mail.

A slight majority of Canadians, 54 percent, said they have been discussing Bill C-18 and the response from Google and Meta with their friends and family, while 30 percent said they have been following the news through headlines, and 16 percent of respondents said they aren’t aware of the bill.

Of the 63 percent of Canadians worried about losing access to Canadian news, New Democrats were most likely to be concerned or very concerned (71 percent) compared to Liberals (66 percent) and Conservatives (62 percent).

A majority of Canadians also believe that Bill C-18 will harm smaller media companies the most (66 percent) compared to just 11 percent that disagrees.