As tech giants threaten to block Canadians’ access to online news, a new poll has found that half of Canadians believe the federal government should “back down” on Bill C-18, which calls for big tech companies to financially compensate Canadian news organizations for sharing their content.
“Half of Canadians (49 percent) feel their government should back down, while one-quarter (26 percent) disagree. Nearly as many (25 percent) are uncertain what the government should do,” said a July 10 poll conducted by the Angus Reid Institute.
Bill C-18, which the Department of Canadian Heritage has said will come into force no later than Dec. 19, will require digital news intermediaries such as Google and Meta to pay Canadian news publishers for the content the tech giants link to or share on their platforms. Both tech companies have announced their intentions to block Canadian news on their platforms once the act takes effect….