Fed Seeking Better deal than Austtalia
Globe says Postmedia, others hear feds talk ad revenue
2022-02-24 08:03 ET - In the News
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The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that the federal government's bill to require large Big Tech to share advertising revenue with the news media will be more transparent and have less political interference than the Australian system it is modelled after, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says. The Globe's Chris Hannay writes that the Liberals are pushing a suite of legislative measures to regulate big digital platforms, including a bill that would address the fact that Facebook and Google earn the lion's share of revenue from digital advertising in Canada. Mr. Rodriguez said the government's legislation will be modelled after a system first introduced in Australia, in which large tech companies are required to reach agreements -- through arbitration, if necessary -- with news outlets to share ad revenue. Mr. Rodriguez told a public policy group discussion that the rules would differ from Australia's in some ways. For example, in Australia the government has the final say on which digital platforms will be required to enter into talks with news outlets. Mr. Rodriguez said his bill will instead give that role to a regulator, so that a politician does not have control over that part of the process.