Google is Not Pulling Out News Links in Canada, Agreement with Media Agencies Still Stands

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 29 November 2023, 07:11 pm

In what could have been a deprivation of news links over at Canada's search via Google, the company and the government have worked things out, with the Mountain View giant not pilling out stories on the region. Earlier, Google revealed that it will remove links to Canadian news stories from its Search, amidst the looming Online News Act that will take effect this coming December.

The recent deal ensures that all news stories and links will remain when browsing the Google search engine, but there are still some kinks to figure out.

Google is Not Pulling Out News Links in Canada, New Agreement

(Photo : KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

The Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, shared good news for all users in the country, and this reveals that Google will no longer continue its pull out of news links and stories from its Search. This means that Canadian users who rely on Google's Search to get the latest news and information from agencies will get to continue their access via the platform.

Furthermore, this also means that Google is set to "contribute to the Online News Act," said St-Onge, working with the Mountain View-based tech giant to deliver the latest updates globally.

According to reports, this agreement will already set Google a whopping CAD 100 million sum to pay Canadian news outlets and publishers but is lower compared to the $172 million estimate.

Google Still Needs to Work Things Out with the Media

However, this is not yet the end of this saga, as Google is compelled to work out arrangements and agreements with Canada's media outlets, signing contracts to solidify deals. Google already prepared negotiation deals with different organizations, but according to CBC's report, the company only needs to face a representative group to limit the risks of arbitration.

Google News and its Canada Pullout

Earlier this year, Google announced its plans to pull out news stores in Canada because of the upcoming Online News Act Bill C-18, particularly as it sought to require companies to pay agencies and publishers to distribute their content. The initial actions of the company centered on banning news content in the country, and testing how it would turn out, and it affected 4 percent of the Canadian users in its run.

However, it was not only Google News that looked into its removing the news content on their platforms amidst Canada's presentation of the bill, as Big Tech also retaliated with their bans. Meta was among the companies who claimed that they would also pullout from the region because of the upcoming bill, with platforms like Facebook and Instagram banning news.

The latest development now sheds a good light on still getting news articles and stories straight from the largest search engine in the world, with Google now looking to work with Canada for better news visibility. However, the country's decision and soon-to-be-law still stand, and Google will have to work out agreements with media companies, setting them a massive sum to pay.

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