Law to help Canada’s news industry, and combat fake news, to be tabled within days

OTTAWA — Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez is poised to bring forward legislation within days to make digital giants compensate Canadian media outlets for reusing their news content.

The bill is modelled on a law in Australia making tech companies, such as Google, pay for news content on their platforms.

Rodriguez has previously said the bill is a priority, and that it will help support Canada’s media industry and combat fake news circulating on the internet.

The online news bill will create a framework for professional media outlets to collectively negotiate deals with online platforms such as Google to compensate them for using their content.