OTTAWA – Last week, Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault made it pretty clear, with two tweets, where the government stands when it comes to making the digital giants contribute to culture here.
In the first, he tweeted a Reuters story published by the Globe and Mail which detailed the ongoing skirmish between the government of Australia and Facebook, saying “We remain committed towards ensuring a comprehensive, more equitable digital regulatory framework here in Canada. That includes making sure that Canadian news organizations continue to inform and empower our communities.”
Minister Guilbeault then followed that up with a clarifier, saying, “As for Facebook’s action, the Canadian government stands with our Australian partners and denounces any form of threats.”
Australia is currently reforming its regulatory regime governing news, culture and the Internet and seems set on forcing Facebook and Google to pay for news which appears on its platforms. Facebook has responded by saying it will then block the dissemination of news on Australian users’ accounts, including Facebook-owned Instagram, rather than pay royalties.
In an August 31 blog post, Facebook’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand wrote: “The proposed law is unprecedented in its reach and seeks to regulate every aspect of how tech companies do business with news publishers. Most perplexing, it would force Facebook to pay news organisations for content that the publishers voluntarily place on our platforms and at a price that ignores the financial value we bring publishers.”
Google is said to be on side with Facebook in fighting this.
Back here in Canada, we don’t think it’s an overstatement to read Minister Guilbeault’s tweets as foreshadowing new communications legislation he said is planned for release this fall. The Broadcast and Telecom Legislative Review panel report also recommends digital giants like Facebook be forced to contribute to the creation of Canadian news and other content. Panel chair Janet Yale affirmed exactly that in a Cartt.ca podcast this summer and those tweets seems to place his thinking in line with Canadian broadcasters and others demanding such changes in the face of severe crises.
If Minister Guilbeault is on Australia’s side on this so publicly now, it seems likely to bet on similar battles between Canada and Silicon Valley come this fall and into 2021.
– Greg O’Brien
