* Money from Google’s $100-milllion annual media compensation fund has yet to be distributed to Canadian newsrooms, despite Google and the federal government having reached a deal last November, and the money is unlikely to to be distributed at all this year because the CRTC missed the Canadian Journalism Collective’s October 7th deadline to approve Google’s Online News Act exemption.
* As background, last November, Google agreed to provide eligible media with $100-million annually over five years if granted an exemption to the Online News Act, the federal legislation that would force tech giants to negotiate deals with media outlets to compensate them for platforming their news content.
* What do the feds say about this and the CRTC’s inability to meet its deadline?
* “It’s in the hands of the CRTC,” said Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge (Brome-Missisquoi, Que.) after The Hill Times asked for an update on Google’s media fund.
* What about Meta?
* Meta has blocked all news links an content on its Facebook and Instagram platforms since June 2023 in order to escape being subject to the Online News Act.
* But now, the CRTC is investigating whether Meta is complying with the Online News Act given that some on Facebook/Instagram continue to share news on these platforms through “work-around strategies” like posting screenshots of news articles.
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Archive link to get around paywall: [https://archive.ph/z5I3m](https://archive.ph/z5I3m)
Broad summary:
* Money from Google’s $100-milllion annual media compensation fund has yet to be distributed to Canadian newsrooms, despite Google and the federal government having reached a deal last November, and the money is unlikely to to be distributed at all this year because the CRTC missed the Canadian Journalism Collective’s October 7th deadline to approve Google’s Online News Act exemption.
* As background, last November, Google agreed to provide eligible media with $100-million annually over five years if granted an exemption to the Online News Act, the federal legislation that would force tech giants to negotiate deals with media outlets to compensate them for platforming their news content.
* What do the feds say about this and the CRTC’s inability to meet its deadline?
* “It’s in the hands of the CRTC,” said Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge (Brome-Missisquoi, Que.) after The Hill Times asked for an update on Google’s media fund.
* What about Meta?
* Meta has blocked all news links an content on its Facebook and Instagram platforms since June 2023 in order to escape being subject to the Online News Act.
* But now, the CRTC is investigating whether Meta is complying with the Online News Act given that some on Facebook/Instagram continue to share news on these platforms through “work-around strategies” like posting screenshots of news articles.