The Online News Act will require digital platforms to bargain fairly with Canadian news organizations.
GATINEAU, QC, June 22, 2023 /CNW/ - News organizations and journalists are essential to our democracy. They play a vital role in providing accurate, fact-based, non-partisan reporting on current events happening in our communities, across the country and around the world, allowing all of us to make informed decisions on important issues such as health, public safety and education.
Today, Bill C-18, the Online News Act, received Royal Assent. This new law will require the largest digital platforms to bargain fairly with Canadian news businesses for the use of their news content on their services.
Millions of Canadians now access their news online. Digital platform act as the gatekeepers in today's digital news marketplace.
The Online News Act levels the playing field between news businesses and large digital platforms to create greater fairness to ensure sustainability of the news industry. Through a market-based approach, it encourages voluntary commercial agreements between platforms and news businesses with minimal government intervention, as well as crucial safeguards to preserve the independence of the press.
Following Royal Assent, the Department of Canadian Heritage will publish draft regulations in the Canada Gazette specifying the application of the Act and provide guidance on implementing the exemption criteria. Everyone will have an opportunity to consult and provide feedback through this Canada Gazette process.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) will be responsible for overseeing the Online News Act. It will oversee the bargaining, negotiation and external final-offer arbitration processes between platforms and news businesses. It will also create a code of conduct to support fairness and transparency in bargaining.
"A free and independent press is fundamental to our democracy. Thanks to the Online News Act, newsrooms across the country will now be able to negotiate fairly for compensation when their work appears on the biggest digital platforms. It levels the playing field by putting the power of big tech in check and ensuring that even our smallest news business can benefit through this regime and receive fair compensation for their work."
—Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage
Between 2008 and 2020, overall revenue for broadcast television, radio, newspapers and magazines fell by nearly $6 billion. At least one third of Canadian journalism jobs disappeared between 2010 and 2016. Since 2008, 474 news media outlets have closed in 335 communities across Canada.
Digital platforms benefit from sharing news content on their platforms, both directly (advertising near news) and indirectly (user engagement, data refinement, subsequent targeted advertising). This legislation requires dominant platforms to compensate Canadian news businesses fairly for their content by addressing the bargaining imbalance between the two parties.
By encouraging proactive fair commercial agreements between news businesses and digital platforms, the Online News Act will maintain a free and independent press with minimal government intervention.
The Online News Act supports small news outlets by allowing them to negotiate for compensation as a unit through collective bargaining. This feature can mitigate the bargaining power imbalances between digital platforms and the smaller, diverse news businesses in Canada.
There are four ways for news businesses to be eligible: as a Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization under the Income Tax Act; as a licensed campus, community or Indigenous broadcaster; as a Canadian organization producing news content of general interest; and as an Indigenous news outlet.
The CRTC is an independent regulatory body with experience in dispute resolution in the communications sector. It is well suited to oversee the bargaining process at arm's length from government.
What We Heard: Report on Fair Revenue Sharing Between Digital Platforms and News Media
Backgrounder
The Online News Act: Next Steps
The Online News Act received royal assent on June 22, 2023. The legislation requires that digital platforms that make news available and have a strategic market dominance bargain fairly, and in good faith, with Canadian news businesses for the use of their news content on their services.
The Online News Act levels the playing field between news businesses and large digital platforms to enhance fairness and contribute to the sustainability of the news sector. It encourages voluntary commercial agreements between platforms and news businesses with minimal government intervention. It includes several safeguards to preserve the independence of the press.
Next Steps
Obligations under the Online News Act will come into effect no later than 180 days after June 22, 2023, the day Bill C-18 received Royal Assent. When elements of the Act come into effect will depend on regulations from the Governor in Council (GIC), and the implementation of processes by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
The GIC, on the recommendation of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, can make regulations regarding which digital platforms the Act applies to and how the CRTC interprets the criteria in the Act for platforms to obtain an exemption from mandatory bargaining and final offer arbitration.
The Minister of Canadian Heritage intends to propose regulations that would:
- Establish a financial threshold for contributions to sustainability of the Canadian news marketplace, outlined in subparagraph 11(1)(a)(vi) of the Act. The threshold would be based on a platform's estimated Canadian revenues and would be specific to each platform and their position within the news marketplace.
- Reaffirm language from the Act that non-monetary offerings to news organizations, such as training or other products, be included in the CRTC's evaluation of exemption criteria.
- Consider existing agreements that the digital platforms have reached with news businesses, provided that they reflect the criteria outlined in Section 11 of the Act.
- Provide clarity on what constitutes a "significant portion" of independent local news businesses, Indigenous news outlets, and official-language minority community news outlets under subparagraphs 11(1)(a)(v), 11(1)(a)(vii), and 11(1)(a)(viii), respectively.
- Provide more details on the thresholds that fulfill the requirements outlined in section 11 of the Act.
The development of these draft regulations is currently underway. This entails a multi-step process that must be approved by the GIC and conform to the Statutory Instruments Act. Regulations are subordinate to the Online News Act and must conform to the provisions set out in the relevant sections of the Act. They will be published in the Canada Gazette Part I for a public consultation. Stakeholders, interested groups, and Canadians will have an opportunity to comment on the proposed regulations.
At the end of the consultation period, Canadian Heritage will assess the comments provided and prepare a final set of regulations for GIC approval. Following this approval, the final regulations will be published in the Canada Gazette Part II and will come into force on the date prescribed by the regulations.
Once finalized, the regulations will make clear which platforms are captured by the Online News Act and what the agreements negotiated between news businesses and platforms must do to get an exemption.
The CRTC will be responsible for overseeing the Online News Act and has its own regulatory authorities. It is expected to implement the Act. For example, it will clarify the process by which requests for eligibility by news businesses are treated. It will oversee the bargaining, negotiation, and external final-offer arbitration processes between platforms and news businesses. It will create a code of conduct to support fairness and transparency in bargaining and establish processes regarding undue preference or discrimination.
For a more detailed breakdown of the regulatory development process, please review the Treasury Board of Canada's website for the Policy on Regulatory Development.
Associated Links
Online News Act https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/online-news.html
Parliament of Canada – Bill C-18 https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/bill/C-18/royal-assent
SOURCE Canadian Heritage
For more information (media only), please contact: Laura Scaffidi, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, [email protected]; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, 819-994-9101, 1-866-569-6155, [email protected]
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