The federal Online News Act may make it harder to access local news
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By Meagan Deuling
Canada’s Bill-C18, the Online News Act, is the federal government’s attempt to get major digital companies to pay Canadian news organizations for their online content. Instead it may make it harder for Canadian to access information.
Already Stoke FM is getting blocked from posting links to news articles to Instagram stories.
The act came into effect on June 22. The idea is that big multi-national digital mega-companies like Google and Meta, which is Facebook and Instagram, make money off news.
People rely on social media to get information. On their Facebook feed, by clicking links in Instagram stories, and by doing Google searches.
When people read articles off these digital platforms, it boosts advertising revenue to these companies. It is only when people visit news sites directly that the news companies benefit from ad revenues.
The Canadian government’s attempt behind enacting Bill C-18 was to force digital organizations to pay Canadian news organizations for the ad revenues they receive from them.
The digital organizations are instead threatening to block Canadian news content.
The government is in the process of implementing the bill, so it’s hard to know how it will play out. But content from Canada Info is being blocked.
Stoke FM’s journalist is part of the national Local Journalism Initiative program, and Canada Info is the site that these journalists post their stories to.
Bill C-18 and the subsequent blocking of news content may effect smaller news organizations, as bigger companies may have the money and capacity to bargain with the digital giants threatening to block Canadian news.
If you want to stay informed, listen to the radio and listen to news podcasts. Bookmark news websites and click those, instead of searching Google or relying on your feed. Look through local news websites to find content.
meagan@stokefm.com
Photo caption: Meta is blocking Stoke FM from linking Canada Info news articles to Instagram stories. Screenshot by Meagan Deuling.
