Canada will soon require digital platforms to pay news outlets and broadcasters revenue

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Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez’s mandate letter calls on him to introduce drastic legislation to equal the news revenue playing field.

The legislation will likely require digital platforms (like Google and Facebook) financially benefiting from Canadian news content to share revenue with news outlets. The mandate letter states Rodriguez will present legislation in early 2022.

But according to recent reporting from Cartt, a timeline to when exactly the legislation will be introduced has not been made public.

The publication does confirm news broadcasters are going to be a part of the new legislation, according to an announcement Rodriguez made at a Canada 2020 event discussing the future of news.

“Minister Rodriguez confirmed last week that broadcasters will benefit from the framework, given the important role they play in producing and providing Canadians access to news,” the spokesperson told Cartt.

The mandate letter also details the legislation will take after Australia’s approach.

Named the “news media bargaining code,” the legislation allows Australia’s Treasury to designate certain digital platforms to share revenues with news platforms they financially benefit from.

But what exactly that will look like in Canada is not clear at this time.

“Further details on the legislative approach will be available in due course,” the spokesperson told Cartt.

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Source: Cartt.ca