Google Follows Meta in Yanking Local News Links in Canada After Online News Act is Passed – Global Bulletin
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LOCAL NEWS BLACKOUT
Google has joined Meta in blocking access to Canadian news links after Bill C-18 AKA the Online News Act that will eventually make the tech giants pay local media outlets for news was passed.
C-18 was set up to ensure “fair revenue sharing between digital platforms and news outlets”; provide for “collective bargaining by news outlets”; promote “voluntary commercial agreements between digital platforms and news outlets, with minimal government intervention”; and “as a last resort,” establish a “mandatory arbitration framework when digital platforms and news outlets cannot reach commercial agreements,” according to the Canadian government.
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As soon as C-18 was passed on June 22, Meta confirmed that news availability would be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada prior to the law taking effect, which is in six months time. On Thursday, Google followed suit, describing the law as “unworkable.” Google said in a blog post: “The government has not given us reason to believe that the regulatory process will be able to resolve structural issues with the legislation. As a result, we have informed the government that we have made the difficult decision that when the law takes effect we will be removing links to Canadian news from our Search, News, and Discover products and will no longer be able to operate Google News Showcase in Canada.”
There was a similar situation in Australia in 2021 leading to Meta blocking news from its platforms. The issue was resolved when the Australian government made changes to the law resulting in Google and Meta striking deals with local news outlets.
C-18 arose from Canadian media outlets’ complaints that they were being edged out of the digital advertising markets by the tech giants. A significant amount of traffic to those outlets are driven via Google and Meta platforms and could reduce drastically if their links are blacked out.
Google said: “The unprecedented decision to put a price on links creates uncertainty for our products and exposes us to uncapped financial liability simply for facilitating Canadians’ access to news from Canadian publishers,” but added that it plans to participate in the regulatory process.
STREAMING
On the eve of cycling great Mark Cavendish’s last ever Tour de France, Netflix will stream Pitch Productions’ documentary feature “Mark Cavendish: Never Enough” globally from August 2. With exclusive access to Cavendish, his wife Peta, his teammates, and his coaches, the film charts the rise, fall and resurrection of the cyclist.
At the end of 2016, Cavendish required just four stage wins to equal the Eddy Merckx’s 41-year-old record of 34 stage wins and cement his legacy. He got five agonising years of injury, illness and depression instead. His winning performance in the 2021 Tour de France surprised the world and set the stage for this summer’s tour.
The film is directed by Alex Kiehl (“Bad Sport”) and produced by Pitch’s creative director David Tryhorn (“Pelé”).
AWARDS
The Olivier Awards 2024 will take place on April 14 at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Established in 1976 and run by the Society of London Theatre, the awards are Britain’s most prestigious stage honors.
The eligibility period for next year’s nominations is from Feb. 15, 2023 to Feb. 27, 2024. This is for productions across all main theater categories, as well as the dance, opera, family and affiliate categories. Nominations will be revealed on March 12, 2024. Mastercard is returning as the Olivier Awards headline sponsor.
TRAILER
A trailer has been revealed for season 2 of WWII-set series “World on Fire,” coming soon to BBC One and iPlayer. The season travels from the streets of Britain into occupied France, Nazi Germany and to the sands of the North African desert, where British troops struggle alongside Indian Sappers and Australian Diggers to adapt to a very different kind of combat.
The six new episodes are written by series creator Peter Bowker, Rachel Bennette and Matt Jones and returning cast includes Lesley Manville (“The Crown”), Jonah Hauer-King (“The Little Mermaid”) as (“Shetland”), Zofia Wichlacz (“Miasto 44”) as Kasia, Blake Harrison (“The Inbetweeners”) and Eugénie Derouand (“The Advent Calendar”).
Joining the cast for season 2 two are Mark Bonnar (“Line Of Duty”), Ahad Raza Mir (“Resident Evil”), Gregg Sulkin (“Runaways”) and Miriam Schiweck (“Der Staatsanwalk”).
Commissioned by the BBC, “World on Fire” (6 x 60’) is a Mammoth Screen production for the BBC co-produced with Masterpiece. The series will be distributed internationally by ITV Studios.
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