Canada Charges Google for Online News Act Enforcement Costs

Canada's telecommunications regulator, the CRTC, announced it will impose a fee on Google starting April 1 to cover the costs of enforcing the Online News Act, which mandates that large tech platforms compensate news organizations for content shared on their sites. The fee, which will vary annually and has no upper limit, adds to existing tensions between Canada and the U.S. over trade and digital services taxes. Google has previously objected to the fairness of this fee, arguing that it is unreasonable to impose all costs on one company, but has agreed to pay C$100 million annually to Canadian publishers to ensure news content remains accessible on its platform. In contrast, Meta has opted to block news content on its platforms in Canada instead of complying with the law. This regulatory move aligns with a global trend to hold tech giants accountable for their impact on the news industry. The CRTC noted that the fee will only be levied on platforms covered by the law, emphasizing the need for fairness in the media landscape.