Google and Facebook's $300 Million Diversion to Canadian Media Organizations

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"I don't think that the type of people who to really kind of take this battle and continue with it, I would like to see that happen," he said. "A lot of the Canadian media and the commentators have taken the side of the tech companies which baffles my mind, but they have." The estimate is that through this process, it might be about $300 million that Google and Meta would have to divert to Canadian media organizations in order to help fund their revenues. In 2021, Google and Facebook extracted almost 10 billion in ad revenue from Canada.

Paris Marx is joined by David Moscrop to discuss Canada’s plan to make Google and Meta pay news publishers, and what might happened now that they’re threatening to pull Canadian news from their platforms.

David Moscrop is a freelance writer and the author of Too Dumb for Democracy?: Why We Make Bad Political Decisions and How We Can Make Better Ones. Follow David on Twitter at @David_Moscrop.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

David Moscrop wrote about the larger context of the Online News Bill in his Substack newsletter.
Paris also wrote about Google and Meta threatening to pull news in Canada and why Canada should take a hard line with them.
Sandy Garossino wrote about how much money Google and Meta extract from Canada.
Media conglomerates Postmedia and Nordstar are in talks to merge.
California is also looking at a similar process to force Google and Meta to pay media in that state.
On Wednesday, the Canadian government pulled advertising from Facebook and Instagram, but said Google was still talking to find a way forward. The government said it won’t back down, and two opposition parties — the New Democratic Party and Bloc Quebecois — voiced their support.

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