Canadian Media Outlets Push for Regulatory Changes to Level Playing Field with Tech Giants

On May 7, 2020, the Canadian Government Standing Committee on Finance met to hear from stakeholders impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This included publishers of Canadian newspapers and media outlets, who have called for an urgent overhaul of the Broadcasting Act to have digital media platforms share their advertising revenues with Canadian media companies.

This push for regulatory change stems from an open letter signed by various Canadian newspapers and media outlets to the federal government, outlining the advantages that major tech giants have as digital media platforms. Specifically, the letter addresses the advertising revenue earned by dominant players like Google and Facebook, who are not required to pay Canadian news providers for their content. Through linking to journalism produced by traditional media outlets, Facebook and Google earn about three-quarters of the digital ad revenue in Canada.

Additionally, news outlets and impacted stakeholders argued that regulators should gain access to the algorithms used by these tech giants to help guard against anti-competitive behaviour. Canadian publishers have urged the federal government to follow the example of other countries, including France and Australia, to level the playing field. Australia is addressing the issue through assessing competition law options, while France is promoting a European tax on digital businesses.

Summary By: Alessia Monastero