Last month, Google started testing limited news censorship
as a potential response to a Canadian government bill that aims to compel
online platforms to pay publishers in Canada for news content.
Google has claimed that the test is like thousands of other
product tests the company conducts on a regular basis.
The tests, which the company says affected less than 4% of
Canadian users, began on Feb. 9 and were scheduled to run for five weeks.
Speaking to a parliamentary committee investigating the
tests, Google's public policy manager Jason Kee confirmed that the tests would
end next week.
"I want to underline these are just tests. No decisions
have been made about product changes," Kee said.
Last month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it
was a "terrible mistake" for Google to block news content in reaction
to "Online News Act," a government bill that created rules for
platforms like Meta's Facebook and Google to negotiate commercial deals and pay
news publishers.
"It really surprises me that Google has decided that
they'd rather prevent Canadians from accessing news than actually paying
journalists for the work they do," he said at the time.
During the panel, questions were raised about local journalism
outlets, like the 13-14 local, weekly papers that MP Martin Shields has in his
riding.
"Blocking is something that I think irritates the local
people, the grassroots people. The unintended consequences here of this move, I
don't think is a way to negotiate and I think it's a mistake on your
part," Shields said to Sabrina Geremia, the head of Google Canada.
Geremia said Google is a contributor to news in Canada,
driving 3.6 billion free visits from Canadians visiting links to news sites,
and has licensing agreements in place with over 150 publications coast to
coast.
Facebook has also raised concerns about the legislation and
warned it might be forced to block news-sharing on its platform.
Canada's news media industry has asked the government for more
regulation of tech companies to allow the industry to recoup financial losses
it has suffered in the years that the tech giants steadily gained greater
market share of advertising.
Ottawa's proposal is similar to a ground-breaking law that
Australia passed in 2021, which too triggered threats from Google and Facebook
to curtail their services. Both eventually struck deals with Australian media
companies after a series of amendments to the legislation were offered.
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