Online News Act

[11][8] Supporters of the bill argued that it would address an imbalance between dominant tech companies and Canadian publishers, by requiring them to provide fair compensation for the dissemination of news content via their platforms.

She felt that the law would only provide benefits to legacy companies due to the eligibility requirements, and that it would reduce the accessibility of Canadian journalism if social media platforms chose to block the ability to share links to news in Canada.

[21] Google's president of global affairs Kent Walker stated that the bill was "unworkable" and "exposes us to uncapped financial liability simply for facilitating access to news from Canadian publications".

[24] Rodriguez criticized Meta for its intent to block news in Canada rather than agree to provide compensation (as it eventually did in Australia),[28][21] and stated that their actions were premature because the bill has not yet been formally implemented.

[15] He announced that the federal government would suspend its purchasing of advertising on Facebook and Instagram effective immediately, considering it inappropriate to do so "while they refuse to pay their fair share to Canadian news organizations".

[15] Other Canadian jurisdictions (including the provinces of British Columbia and Quebec)[29][30] as well as the CBC,[29][31] labour unions Unifor and FTQ,[32] and media companies that supported the bill, also announced that they would pull their advertising from Meta platforms effective immediately.

[38] Meta's decision had a negative impact on Indigenous communities, with Ku'ku'kwes News, Shubie FM[note 1] and PSAs from the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke being among those that had their content blocked.

[41] Amid the 2023 Canadian wildfires, Meta received further calls from Rodriguez and St-Onge to lift its preemptive restrictions on news content, arguing that it was hindering the distribution of up-to-date information.

[43] On November 29, 2023, Google said it reached an agreement with the Canadian federal government to comply with Bill C-18, under which it will make annual payments of around $100 million CAD to a collective fund that will be managed by the media sector.

[44] Geist argued that this agreement "upends" the original intent of the bill, stating that " the government was ultimately able to strike a deal largely by changing the law, albeit through yet-to-be released regulations.