Bill Forcing Social Media Companies and Online Search Engines to Pay to Share News Content Passes Senate, despite threats from Meta

A Bill which aims to make social media companies and online search engines pay to post news content is set to become law.

Bill C-18 has received Royal Assent, after passing in both the House and Senate, though it won’t take effect for another six months.

It will force companies such as Google, Twitter, and Meta to negotiate deals with news outlets to pay for linking to their content.

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says the new law will help Canadian news outlets recover ad revenue lost to tech giants in recent years.

In response to the Bill’s passing, Facebook and Instagram owner Meta says they will move forward with plans to block all news content in Canada.

Other major tech companies, such as Google, have also threatened to restrict access, but haven’t commented since the passing.

While the Liberal Government says the legislation could generate upwards of $300 million for news outlets, most would go to the CBC.