By Canadian Press

Top Google exec says ‘everybody loses’ with online news bill at House committee

Apr 20, 2023 | 12:37 PM

OTTAWA — A top Google executive told a House of Commons committee today that the Liberal government’s online news bill would create a situation where everybody loses. 

Google’s vice president for news, Richard Gringas, says the bill’s passage would incentivize clickbait content over high-quality local journalism, and likely require the company to pay publishers for non-factual or misleading content.

Gringas says the company would prefer to contribute to a media fund that would align with the government’s policy goals while funding local journalism.

He appeared alongside Google’s president of global affairs Kent Walker at the heritage committee, which is studying the actions of the Silicon Valley giant after it ran a five-week test that blocked news links to some of its Canadian users as a potential response to the bill.

Walker says if Google had to pay news publishers for linking to their content, the company would lose money with every click — and it would be reasonable for them to consider why they would continue to do so. 

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Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has also said it is considering blocking news from its Canadian platform in response to the bill, which is now being considered by the Senate after passing in the House of Commons in December.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2023. 

The Canadian Press