Google Takes Stand Against Canada's Online News Act, Removes News Links in Protest

Google has officially announced that it will block news links in Canada to avoid having to pay for sending traffic to Canadian news sources. The company stated that the Canadian Online News Act (C-18) makes it untenable for them to continue offering their Google News Showcase product in Canada. Google had been supporting journalism in Canada through various programs and partnerships, but will now cease these efforts due to the bill's demand for payments for linking to news, which goes against the fundamental principle of the web. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has also terminated a contract with The Canadian Press that funded reporting fellowship positions for early-career journalists. The Canadian government is now scrambling to negotiate with Google and Meta to find a solution, while two major newspapers in Canada are reportedly in talks to merge.